Let's Begin Art Journaling 2021

2021 and all things possible. I saw this new to me challenge: Creatalicious Challenges and it can be anything made from paper. So I thought I try a couple of journal pages and play along.

For Christmas I asked my hubby for products from Studio Light Art by Marlene sold on Joggles.com. As usual, I gave a list, and the generous hubby that he is, bought me everything on it! I thought this year, I am going to play more with paper and create journals. I don't think I will be the scribbling type of art journalist with self portraits, but more whatever strikes my fancy. I want to use things I have on hand.

This is one of the journal cutting dies by Art by Marlene (StencilBM12) that I received. They are so fun because there are dies within dies and perfect for creating your own smaller art journal. 

If you look around the edges of the picture above, you'll see 2 dies - one cut the cover and the inner one cuts the inside pages. I have the Big Shot Accessory Extended Cutting Pad & Plates which makes a one shot cut easy. You could do it with the regular Big Shot - just tape the die to the paper and turn it.

I used a Mixed Media Paper by American Crafts and cut about 10 sets - which is 20 separate pages. Since these fold in the middle the only separate cut page that could be a 2 pager - is the one that goes in the middle of the book.

I started with the front & back pages and use Ken Oliver's Color Bursts. No Gesso or any type of medium was used first. I let my pages dry naturally and then I ran it through my Heidi Swapp laminator between 2 plain sheets of copy paper to flatten it out. 

I stamped with Altenew's Obsidian Black ink with stamps I have in my stash for years. I love the Wizard of Oz "Glenda the Good Witch" sentiment from Technique Junkies which says "You are capable of more than you know". The bold words are from Tim Holtz's 2015 MM2 set and the numbers are from a set I bought at Michaels and never used. Feels good to use random stuff from my stash.

My Covid-19 page was inspired by Sticky Quotes that I have from Studio Light Art by Marlene. These quotes are so unique and the smaller book has a set each in white and a set in black. All the way to the back was a page of these amoeba looking white stickers and I knew just what I wanted to create. 

The larger sticker book has white, black and kraft color of all quotes - 3 sets. The sentiment was just perfect for this worldwide Pandemic time in our lives - "One day you will tell your story of how you have overcome what you are going through now".

I did put Gesso on both pages before I sprayed in my Splat Box. I used so many colors, but basically Distress Oxide Speckled Egg, Distress Spray Stain Peacock Feathers and Mustard Seed. Lots of Dina Wakley Media White Gloss Spray and gold sprays of various sorts. I just kept spraying, stencilling and letting it drip and run.

The Covid shapes have Scrapbook.com's new Clear Shimmer and once dry, a layer of Nuvo Crystal Clear Glaze.

Trying to show the sparkle and shine:

Here is another page I did with Poppy Stamps birds die and an Art by Marlene sticker sentiment:

I did cut out a cover for the Art Journal out of plain heavy cardboard - it cut perfectly. I also cut a piece out of Art by Marlene Faux Leather:

I glued them together and now can't find them! Does that happen to you? You put something in a new place and then takes a while before you can find it again.  Tough getting old...It will turn up.

I hope you enjoyed my beginning stages of Art Journaling. Starting small and see how it goes. In the past I have created large 2 page journals, but now I want to play more and with smaller pages, it makes it quicker and easier. Stay tuned and thanks for sticking to the end!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Embossing Folder & Animal

Today I am playing along with a new fun challenge called "Let's Squash It"! which is an embossing folder challenge. My card will be submitted to Challenge #4: Use an Embossing Folder and an Animal.

Also submitting to NBUS Challenge #22 since I have never used this embossing folder before:

This is a Tim Holtz Texture Fade Embossing Folder by Sizzix called Crackle which gives the most amazing dimension. Right now Sizzix has a sale going on and it is less than $5.00!

I definitely thought of it when I saw the challenge - isn't that a fun name for a challenge, too?! I started with Neenah Solar White Classic Crest in 80 lb. and spritzed it with my Ranger Distress Sprayer - just enough to dampen the paper. This soften the paper fibers and keeps it from cracking (where you don't want it) when you run it through your die cutting & embossing machine. Just look at that dimension:

I gave it a few drops from my Distress Mustard Spray Stain for a little color. After I did it I thought, umm...does that look like the dog peed? I don't know, but I am going with it anyway. 

I had previously colored this cute dog from Tim Holtz's Crazy Dog and cut it out with the coordinating die. The coloring was with Derwent Inktense Colored Pencils which are watercolor pencils onto Ranger Watercolor Paper. Both are favorites of mine for cardmaking.

He is finished with Nuvo Crystal Glaze on his eyes and a large action wobbler on his back. Lots of movement!

The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions' Noteworthy Stamp set. I stamped it with Altenew's Obsidian Black Ink and quickly sprinkled Nuvo Crystal Clear Embossing Powder over it and heat set. Once cooled, I cut it out with the circle from SugarPea Designs Element Builder II. I've mentioned before this is one of my favorite dies for the tiny dots that go around the borders of both the rectangle and the circle:

I've used the banner die, many, many times, too. If you are not familiar with SugarPea Designs, please take a look. They have the cutest designs and if you want to see some wonderful creativity, sign up for their emails and follow their blog hops. If you are a stamp/die lover like me, you'll really enjoy it!

Here is the Taylored Expression set, Noteworthy. I watched a You-Tube where Taylor created a set of note cards for her sister and I had plans to do the same for Christmas. Haven't done so, but I still have plans - there's always next year!

I used double sided adhesive tape from Scrapbook.com to adhere the embossed panel to the card base of Neenah 110 lb. Classic Crest Solar White cardstock. Since there is so much dimension it really needed a strong adhesive.

The inside sentiment is a simple Happy Birthday stamp from Dare 2B Artzy You've Got Mail. I like the large simple font from this set.

So that's it for today, friends. A Clean and Simple card for a new challenge group and of course, some NBUS!

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Great Sale now Until Jan. 24, 2021!

Hi friends! I just wanted to let you know about a really good deal going on at Spellbinders now until Jan. 24, 2021. You don't often see such great savings!  And remember, Spellbinders sells Fun Stampers Journey products, too. 

Spellbinders has a new tool included with the Glimmer Hot Foil System if you were thinking of purchasing it. With $25 off - this would be a great time!

Here are some cards/projects I've created with both Spellbinders and FSJ:

The fun Say It Embossing Folder came from Spellbinders and right now it is on sale for $1.49! Can't beat that. 

Great time to pick up the popular Sunday Drive Series:

There are cute add-ons for this series, too. Halloween, Easter, Christmas and Love. Who doesn't love a Santa, a skeleton or a bunny driving a car?!

This card is from the Truckin' Through the Season Die set. There are lots of add- ons for this set, too! So fun to create these dimensional cards. No stamping on this one (except for the inside).

More fun creations from this year:

I took first place on a challenge with this card using the Hot Foil Glimmer System:

You can see I love Spellbinders and Fun Stamper Journey products. They stamp and die beautifully! I hope this helps if you are looking for some new craft supplies. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

Card Concept Daring To Dream

Welcome to the Card Concept #147 Daring To Dream! I made several cards, 2 of the cards, including the main card, are Clean and Layered and a 3rd card is Shabby Chic & Vintage, using a recycled product.

When I first saw the photo and the suitcases I knew I wanted to use this Fun Stampers Journey set: Classic that I have had in my stash for years. I haven't used it before, so it was really time. This is a red rubber stamp with wonderful detail.

I had in my mind to make the background with Stonehedge Kraft Watercolor Paper from Blick Art Materials. This is a 90 lb. paper - on the lighter side, so it makes a good card front. I bought the 22" X 30" sheet from Blick Art and cut it into workable sized pieces. It came packaged beautifully, no bent corners, etc., and a really good value for the money.

I stamped the suitcase image with Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil using second generation stamping. This means I inked up the stamp, stamped it once on scrap paper and then the second time on the Stonehedge Kraft Watercolor Paper. I knew I was going to use my Derwent Inktense Colored Pencils, so I didn't want dark outlines, but just the hint of the lines.

The sentiment came from Technique Junkies Wisdom of Oz set which I am currently using the first heart stamp for Valentine's cards:

As usual, I made extra cards while I was at it. One card I used some corrugated paper that came in the mail. Recycle my friends!

 And one card is monochromatic - kraft and brown colors:

After I had all 3 card fronts ready I felt they were missing something. Too much empty space.  So, I used the postage stamp from a Stampendous set, Grunge to fill in the negative space.

So how fun is this challenge? Here are all 3 cards:

Come join us for this challenge and maybe break out some of your stash that has been neglected! Thanks for visiting, friends.

*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.