And So The Adventure Begins

For the last two and a bit years I have been on the design team and admin team at Off The Rails Scrapbooking and at the end of the month I will be leaving OTRS. It is with a heavy heart and much sadness and a lot of soul searching to make the decision . I have learnt so much, been inspired by so many talented people. Thank you Amanda for giving me the opportunities that you have.

But before I do actually go I have a tutorial to share with you all. Please pop on over to the blog to see how I used the current mood board for my tutorial.

Happy Creating

Happy New Year 2016

Hello and Welcome to 2016. Golly gosh I am not really sure where 2015 went but went it did.

Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book, Write a good one. - Brad Paisley

I have been seeing this quote around a lot recently and it really got me thinking about how I love to create and never really seem to do enough of it. So I have decided that I am going to try and do something arty every day. I am not going to put any pressure on myself and if I don't get a chance to do anything then that's ok. Nor am I going to put pressure on myself to actually have a finished piece every day but just do something, whether it be putting gesso on some mixed media paper for another day or creating a card or even an art journal page or even if it's just playing with a product that I haven't used before.

This morning to kick start you on your creative journey for 2016 I am sharing the new mood board and my inspirational piece for Off The Rails Scrapbooking.

I guess you can see where my inspiration came from, the Combi vans. The mood board provides so much inspiration I hope that you will pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking to see what some of the other designers have created.

I will be back a little later in the month to show you how I created this card.

Happy Creating

1 stamp, 2 Cards

Today I am up on the blog for Off The Rails Scrapbooking I have created a tutorial using 1 stamp from Stampin' Up called Swallowtail and creating 2 cards. The colours that I used were from the current challenge on the blog.

Below is our mood palette and I would love to see how you would use it.

All the Products I used are from Stampin' Up

Stamp - Swallowtail

Stamp - Butterfly Basics

Stamp Birthday Blossoms

Ink - Basic Black

Ink - Daffodil Delight

Ink - Soft Suede

Ink - Pool Party

Ink - Cucumber Crush

Cardstock - Whisper White

Cardstock - Basic Black

Re Inker - Cucumber Crush

Re Inker - Daffodil Delight

VersaMark

Clear Embossing Powder

Card Number 1

Card Number 2

 

If you would like to see how I created the above 2 cards then please pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking.

Happy creating

Adventures with Color Bloom Spray Mists

Just recently I finally gave in an brought the Color Bloom Spray Mists from Prima. My will had been strong until I put my name down for a class that is happening in November. In the class the sprays will be used. So me being me I needed to know what they were like and what they did if you would like to read what my ramblings were then please pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking

Products Used: Color Bloom Spray Mist -  Soft Teal, Brush Chrome, Deep Teal, Tangerine, Summer Sky and Cobalt. Mixed Media Paper, TCW Stencil - Mini HalfTone Circles, Clear Crackle Paste, Clear Gesso, Texture Paste, White Gesso, Matte Gel and Gloss Gel.

Clear Crackle Paste

Clear Gesso

Texture Paste

Gesso

Matte Gel

Gel Medium

Gloss Medium

Gloss Medium

I have created some really yummy back grounds that I cannot wait to use for mixed media cards.

Happy Creating

When Things Go Wrong

When you are creating we all have a tendency to compare ourselves with others, and I will put my hand up the quickest as I do it all the time. But you know what, we are all individuals, we all create differently and see things different. We are our own worst critic, well I am here to tell you to be gentle with yourselves and be who you want to be. Believe in the journey and trust where the path leads because you never know where you will end up or what you will discover.

If you want to find out how I went from this

 

To this and my journey along the way please follow the link to Off The Rails Scrapbooking

Happy Creating

Red, Black and Grey

The September Challenge over at Off The Rails Scrapbooking is all about Red, black and grey. An amazing colour combination that can either be moody and dramatic or bright and cheerful. Which one are you?

They say that your mood affects your art work and I can say that yes it does. I have been feeling a bit bleck lately, with no energy or motivation and no creative spark. My journal page ended up being a very dark piece which is not really me but I love it all the same. That's what journaling is all about.

Happy Creating

Embrace The Journey

This coming weekend I am going to my very first scrapbooking retreat. You would not believe how excited I am. With this excitement comes the Oh No what am I going to take with me. I create by looking at my stash of goodies, I don't plan ahead. Going on retreat is sending me completely out of my comfort zone, which is a good thing. I will be surround by so many talented ladies that I am sure to pick up an idea or two.

So what to take, I have a list as long as my arm, lucky I am driving by myself and will be able to fill the car. On the top of my list are my stencils, gelatos, big brush pens, dylusion paints, mega flakes, stamps, inks, gesso, mixed media paper, texture paste etc etc etc.

After talking to a scrappy friend who is also going I went out and brought a couple of art journals to take with me. I don't normally journal in an actually journal, I usually use loose pieces of mixed media paper. But I decided that I need a journal. Off to the art store I trotted thinking now this will be an easy decision, an hour later I finally walked out with not 1 but 3 art journals.

I had a couple of requirements that needed to be met. The paper needed to be thicker 150 gsm, smaller than A4 size, not spiral bound (as I wanted to be to create a 2 page spread) and not cost an arm and a leg.

To test out one of my journals I decided to create a 2 page spread.

If you would like to see how I created this please pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking where I have done it step by step.

Happy Creating.

The Strength Within

This month over at Off The Rails Scrapbooking there are two mood boards to choose from. 

 

When I first saw the two totally different mood boards I was immediately drawn to the top one as my favourite flower are tulips. But when it actually came down to the creating side of things I was inspired by the pink, grey and white of the second one. Pastel colours are not really my thing so I am not too sure what drew me to it.

I always say that I never know what I am going to create and this time was no exception. I didn't even really thing about what I was doing I just did it. It is way outside of what I normally create. Do I love it unsure, I do like it though.

Happy Creating

Where Flowers Bloom

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a friends place for a creative play. I had no idea what to take so I did ask for some advice from a group on fb and the suggestions were fantastic but I still was confused. In the end I took pre gessoed timber boards, most of my stencils (and I have quite a few), gesso, a few stamps, heat gun, printed tissue paper, embossing powder and my gel medium.

I really had no plans of what I was going to create. In the end started creating a back ground and an idea started forming in my head.

This was the background I created at my friend's place and below is the finished piece.

Happy Creating

May Challenge at Off The Rails Scrapbooking

Does the mood board above make you want to create? I know it did with me. I love the fact that with mood boards/colour palettes, you don't have to been inspired by everything on it. Take the things that inspire you and run with it.

This month I used the colours, the timber and the saying to create my art journal page. We are our own worst critics and the saying reminds us that there is enough people out there criticising what we do that we don't need to do it to ourselves.

If you would like to see what other members of the Design Team at Off The Rails Scrapbooking create please click HERE.

Happy Creating

Creating with Distress Inks

With so many new products being released into the market (that we just have to have) sometimes we forgot about the products we already own. I was looking around my creative space and I saw my distress inks. To be perfectly honest I cannot remember the last time I used them. When I first got them, I needed them and after my first use couldn't wait to buy more. I ended up with 37. Now I know that is not all of them, but it is where I stopped buying them.

So combining my distress inks, embossing powders, stamps, texture paste, a rub-on and a stencil I created the card below

Close up detail

If you would like to see my step by step instruction please pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking.

Happy Creating

Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals

I have a some new toys. Last week I brought some Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals. They are a mica powder, so all you need to do is just add water and watch the magic happen.

If you would like to see how I created this background and what I ended up doing with it the please pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking.

Happy Creating

Believe

It all happens because the end of the month is looming and I needed to create something. At the beginning and in the middle of February I was struggling with the sketch and mood palette for this months reveal at Off The Rails Scrapbooking. But with that deadline nearly upon me I stopped thinking and just created from the heart.

The challenge this month is to use a sketch and a mood palette. It is all about using them as inspiration and putting your own spin on things.

Before I share with you what I created and want to tell you about the amazingly talented artist who created the sketch and mood palette. The first time I saw Fiona's work I fell in love and every piece since then has had the same affect. 

I began creating a layout but soon got frustrated with that so I moved on to my art journal. This resulted in a page that I wish I had created on canvas so I could hang it on my wall.

Don't forget to visit Off The Rails Scrapbooking to see how the other Design Team members used the sketch and mood palette.

Happy Creating

Creating Texture

I love playing with stencils, in fact I think they have become an addiction, but I wanted to create texture on a canvas background with out them. So I assembled the following products on my desk to see what I could create.

Finnabair Art Basics 3D Gloss Gel - Transparent

Golden Fluid Acrylic - Titanium White

Derivan Matisse Flow - Bleached Titanium

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - L.E.D. Red

Limor Webber Designs Lindy's Stamp Gang Flat Fabio Spray - Pop Rock Purple

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen big brush - Pink Madder Lake

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen big brush - Magenta

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen big brush - Manganese Violet

Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Cool Peri

3 10cm x 10cm x 3.3cm canvases

Using my plastic paint scraper I quickly scrapped some of the 3D Gloss Gel on all three canvas. I did it quickly as I did not want them to be the same or perfect. I wanted the bumps, the missed bits and the thin bits.

I picked up two of the canvases and pressed them together. I held them in one hand while I pushed the canvas from the back with my fingers . I then slowly pulled them apart and this amazing texture began to appear. Wondering how I was going to get that texture on the third canvas I again quickly used my paint scrapper to smooth out some of the gel so I could press the 2 canvases together.

Once I had texture on the canvases used my heat gun to dry the gel. At this stage I still had no idea what I was going to create on the canvases as I really was just playing. As I was drying them on two of the surfaces I could see a flower, the third was still a mystery.

Now that the gel was completely dry it was time to use my white paint and a very fine angled paint brush to create the edge of my flower. You can use a grey lead pencil to draw your shape but I found it easy enough using my paint brush. To create the flower I just followed the textural lines made by the gel.

Using the white paint i could clearly see my flower shape, leaving the inside of the flower alone, using my fingers i spread white paint around the rest of the canvas. Taking the top of my Pop Rock purple and L.E.D. Red I used the end of the tube to paint with. I coloured in my flowers, making some parts darker than others. Drying the sprays to speed up the process, and then adding more colour on top. Happy with the coloured sprays I used I them started adding different colours with my PITT pens.

The middle of my purple flower was coloured with the glimmer mist and the middle of my red flower was coloured using my alcohol ink.

The final step was using my fingers to add some unbleached titanium to the canvas.

Dont be afraid to play with your products, use them different ways because you never know what you could end up creating.

The colours I used came from the current challenge at Off The Rails Scrapbooking.

Happy Creating

Card Tutorial

Today is my turn to share a tutorial on Off The Rails Scrapbooking blog.

Sometimes I struggle to think of what to share but this month was easy. I want to share with you how I created my card for the current challenge over at Off The Rails Scrapbooking

If you click on current challenge above it will take you to the blog and you will see that the challenge is a mood palette. The colours are yellow, black and white. These three colours are not something that i have worked with together before so I did have to do a little bit of thinking, ok to be perfectly honest I had to put a lot of thought into.

I first created not one but two different art journal backgrounds. Both of the backgrounds were created using water, Lindy's Stamp Gang Spray and Archival Black Ink.

I didn't like either of them and I couldn't see where they were going. So I did something that I would normally not do, I torn them into strips. It felt really good to.

Now that I had ripped the pages into strips, what was I going to do with them? Currently I am cutting 300gsm water colour paper into 8x8 squares for my journal pages, but I needed something a little more robust to support the strips. So I decided to use my mixed media paper that is (I think is the same gsm) stronger and doesn't warp for the support. As you can see below there is no rhyme or reason where strips went, they are not all the same length or thickness. To glue them down and have a clear coating over the top I used my X-press It Triple Tac Glue. I use my Triple Tac for everything, from attaching paper to metal embellishments and everything in between.

Once I had completely cover the strips with the triple tac I then used my heat gun to dry it. There were two reasons for this. The first is that I am impatient and wanted it dry immediately and the second is that when drying it I could create more texture by causing the glue to bubble and leave those magical little lumps. In the photo above you can see them if you look closely.

When finished drying and creating texture I then used my paint scrapper to apply some gesso. Again I used by heat gun to dry the gesso, but not completely as I wanted to rub some of it off.

I decided that although I had a lot of texture I needed more colour so I found my Sunshine Yellow Alcohol Ink from Tim Holtz and while gently squeezing I ran the bottle across the top of my page which I was holding on an angle to let the ink run down my page.

The paper has been through a lot but I haven't finished with it yet. Using my nail I scrapped it down the right had side causing bit of the paper to come away and then I carefully remove a strip of paper from the left hand side of my card. I then applied more gesso with my scrapper and wiping away the excess. Finally finished and stopped to look at my background and reminded me of weathered painted wood.

The final step was to add my gorgeous flower, some muslin and thin black ric rack. All attached with my Triple Tac Glue.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Creating.

Happy New Year

Today is the first day of the New Year, looking forward to the new memories, spending time with family, friends and what ever else this year will bring.What am I doing today, spending it at home and enjoying the peace and quiet as my family has gone away camping in tents and I am just not a camper. When I go camping I need a proper building, plumbing, electricity and a proper comfy bed.

It is also the day for a new challenge at

 Off The Rails Scrapbooking. 

As much as I love this mood palette it threw me in a spin as black, white and yellow are not colours that I would normally choose to work with.

I started two journal pages and I did not like either of them so in the end I combined two things that I love doing - card making and mixed media.

If you would like to see what the rest of the Design Team created please follow the link above.

Happy Creating

Do You Have a Favourite Shape?

I never knew that I had a favourite shape but it seems that I do.

When I am working with circles I go to my happy place and something comes out the other side that I love. What is your favourite shape?

Below is an Art Journal page that I created for my turn today on Off The Rails Scrapbooking. If you would like to follow my process and how I created it please follow the link (here).

Happy Creating

Watercolour Background

Have you ever created a background that you loved so much that you had no idea what to embellish it with. Well that is what happened with this card that I designed for the new challenge at Off The Rails Scrapbooking pop on over to the blog to see what the rest of the talented design team created.

The challenge was to use the colours from a mood palette. I found this extremely challenging as it was a mix of colours that I would not normally put together. But it works.

For this card I used all Stampin' Up products :

Inks - So Saffron, Blackberry Bliss, Tangerine Tango, Wild Wasabi and Hello Honey

Stamps - Itty Bitty Banners, Four Feathers and Off The Grid
Punch - Bitty Butterfly.

Thank you for coming past and Happy Creating.

Dollie, a Paper Flower and A Heart

What does a dollie, a paper flower, and a chipboard heart all have in common? 

They are on a new page of my journal.

To find out how I went from here 

to here pop on over to Off The Rails Scrapbooking

The quote I used is a little hard to read but it says

'Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable'

You still have 4 days to enter into the current challenge on the blog

Happy Creating

Dont Follow - Leave a Trail

It was my turn to share on Off The Rails Scrapbbooking blog today. Please pop on over to see what other projects that the amazingly talented Design Team has created. Every day there is something new.

Sometimes things just come together without much thought and this is one of those times. Using my Golden Fluid Acrylics, left over pieces from previous projects and my Faber Castell Pitt Pens I created a new page for my Art Journal.

Happy Creating