Be your own kind of beautiful ........

Good morning
Happy Thursday folks ......

How's your week been going?

The old craft room is back up and running as normal ...... whatever that is!  I've made a start on next month's DT commitments even though Mr Mojo is still putting up a fight, but ..... I think I'm winning finally. I'm ready for the blog challenges at the beginning of next month at least which is better than I was last week!  Although I'm still having fun (if that's what you can call it!) playing around with a new camera ....... photos are taking a little longer.  Why is nothing ever easy!

I must admit that I'm looking forward to having time to play with all the lovely new stash that's arriving in the old craft room.  New stamps ..... oooh!  A few new stencils ....... lovely!  Gorgeous new Finnabair paints ..... so pretty!  And the new waxes .... can't wait to try those!  I'm also making a start on a shopping list for the craft show at Port Sunlight at the beginning of May.  My tickets arrived last week .... whoo hoo!! So looking forward to that, can you tell ..... it'll be the first time I've been off the island this year.  Can't believe I've lasted this long!!  Mind you, I am grounded a little now since the airline that flew into Blackpool went into liquidation!
Luckily I didn't have any flights booked like I normally have ..... hubby had one and we're still trying to get the money back for that!

In between all the DT/challenge stuff  I have managed to have a little play in my journal again ...... sorry about the photos, what with the bad light and the new cameras I'm not sure that I've captured these pages properly

Lots of Prima goodies on these ..... the pretty doily stencil, used randomly off the pages with texture paste .....

Lots of shimmery pearlescent paints from the Finnabair range, in pretty pastel shades, brushed across both pages and also used to paint the butterflies

More butterflies stamped, painted and fussy cut before being added onto the page

And of course some words ...... stamped and clear embossed.

Lots of splatters across the pages to finish off ..... using black, white and gold paint

Not sure that the true shimmer really comes across in the photos, it looks so pretty and delicate in real life ..... the pastel shades are gorgeous.  I'll get the hang of the camera ....... eventually!

Oh well ..... must dash.  I've got a busy day ahead.

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day,

Cheerio until next time

I haven't forgotten my journal .......

Happy Wednesday ......

How's your week going? The sun has been shining but it's a bit on the chilly side over here.  Didn't stop a little trip out though.  I went AWOL today ...... took a break from the packing and had a lovely afternoon catching up over coffee down in the south of the island.  Managed to pick up a few bits for the new house too ..... ooops! more stuff to pack!

There's not a lot going on in the old craft room this week.  I'm just finishing off the last of this months DT projects. Oh ....... and playing around with a few pages in my journal.
Yes, I'm still playing along with Creative Journaling 365 ........ still trying to catch up though.  I'm way behind on the doing something everyday bit!

I have got a couple of finished pages to share ........ these have been on going for a few days, doing a little bit here and there.
Pages 17 & 18 ...... I've been trying out the gorgeous Luscious Pigment Powders from IndigoBlu.
I've had some of these a while just never got around to playing with them, but after watching Kay on the telly I had to give them a go .......

The journal pages had already been painted with acrylic paint and a bit of dry brushing with some white gesso.  I'd stamped and heat embossed the Prima butterfly too, and that was as far as I'd got.

So .... out came a few leaf stamps and I added some foliage around the edges ...... love this vine from Dylusions

And Carabelle Studio ......

Then came the fun part ...... adding colour using the Pigment Powders.  WOW! these are so nice to use, the colours are gorgeous, the coverage is great, and the shine from the mica is just stunning. I used the green on the leaves with a touch of teal ......

I added a few more butterflies to the background ....... stamped and embossed and then added some colour using the Luscious again .......

There's a little bit of stencilling on there too ..... along with some more stamping here and there

And I finished off by adding some gilding flakes here and there for added shine.

Pages 19 & 20 are not quite so busy ........

This was my take on the prompt .... leave some white space.  There's plenty of space although it's not very white!

IndigoBlu again ..... this time the Giant Poppy stamp ..... love this large bloom!
I simply stamped it off the edge of the pages and heat embossed with a detail white embossing powder ......

I then used a red Brusho to add the colour ...... I wet the petals first using a paintbrush and water, carefully sprinkled on the Brusho pigment and then spritzed more water to spread the colour, trying to keep it just on the flower.  I did this a few times, mopping up the excess as I went along until I got the colour I wanted.
Some of the Brusho did go over the rest of the page and when I added some white paint on the top it gave this gorgeous pinky shade

I added a bit more detail by applying some white crackle paste through my favourite brick wall stencil and finished off with some words from Inkylicious

Things are getting a little bit crazy around here now getting ready for the move ...... the boxes are piling up as we speak. There's lists everywhere, and I'm cleaning for England!!
It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate over the years.  But, we're being ruthless (again!) ...... if it hasn't been worn in the last 12 months .... it's going!  If I haven't used it in the last 12 months ..... it's going (that doesn't include anything in the old craft room by the way!)  And all the kids stuff that we're still 'looking after' well that's going as well!  They can look after their own bits and bobs, they've both got their own places now.  This new house is just for hubby and I ..... we hope!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your evening.

Cheerio until next time ........

Let's get some catching up done .......

Happy Tuesday, what's left of it .......

Thankfully I think the lergy is finally on it's way out ........ yeah!!   I feel so much better today.
Thank you for all your kind wishes ...... I know this thing has done it's rounds, I'm not the only one to have been knocked for six. I hope that everyone is feeling better now!

We've had quite a busy few days here what with one thing and another.  We've not been very far but we've got a lot done.
Remember I mentioned we were hoping to move again soon ..... well we are. Very soon!  I tell you ..... life is never dull here!
Fingers crossed we're looking to get the keys to the new place around the first/second week in February ..... eeeek!!!!  There's a number of things that all need to come together first for that to happen but, they all seem to be falling into place (let's hope I don't regret saying that!)
I'll need to start on the packing again soon.  Oh well ...... we could do with a good old clear out.

But enough of all that ...... what's been going on in the old craft room?
Well ...... not a lot really.  There's been the odd birthday card or two ..... it was Chris's turn today, he's 27 (that makes me feel old!)

I've been busy with some Design Team stuff ..... Sweet Poppy have got some new stencils out and you're going to love them!  If you follow the SPS page on Facebook you'll have already seen some of the fabulous work from the rest of the DT.  I'll share a few of my samples with you later in the week.

I've been planning the first workshop of the year ...... my group of ladies are all chomping at the bit to get back to their crafty sessions which get underway again at the weekend.
By request, we're going to be taking everything back to the beginning.  Nice CAS cards with easy stamping techniques, and a few clever ideas for adding those extra little details.

I've also managed to finish 2 more pages in my journal ...... whooo hoo!  I've fallen sooooo behind with that but don't worry ....... I'm not giving up!!

Here's pages 15 & 16

I've finally got around to playing with Distress Crayons.  I know I'm a little late to this party ...... but better late than never! To be honest I thought before I buy another set ....... I think it's set 10 that I've got to have ....... I thought I'd better use some of the ones that I already have!!

They are so easy to use and react beautifully with water ....... love how they drip!

I simply spread some of the colours onto the journal pages, spritzed with water  and then used a paintbrush to blend the colours over the pages.
I scribbled some crayon onto the top of the page, spritzed more water then lifted the journal and let the colour drip down the page

I added more detail by placing a stencil onto the page and then I wiped over the top with a wet wipe to remove some of the colour leaving the design behind.

A bit of stamping here and there ....... using the PaperArtsy set EKD01 from Kim Dellow
and then a touch of silver and white gel pens to highlight some of the dots

I stamped the trees directly onto the journal page, and then again onto old book pages and paper pieced them

And the little birds were stamped onto white cardstock, coloured and fussy cut before adding them to the scene ......

The words are from Inkylicious and before I stamped them into my journal I painted over the coloured page with some white gesso so that they would stand out a little

So that's two more pages done and I have a list of prompts and ideas for some more.  Just need some time ..... before the packing starts!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy what's left of your evening.
I'm off for an early night ..... well early ish I suppose.
I've got the house to myself for the next few days .... hubby's gone to London this evening on business until Friday.  Another reason why we've been rushing around ..... we've been trying to get as much of the house/moving stuff sorted before he left.  It does mean though that I can spend the next few days in the old craft room ..... whoo hoo!!

Cheerio until next time ........

More from my journal .......

Happy weekend .......

What a nice, quiet relaxing day we've had here.  The weather's still a bit grey and damp so we decided to chill at home.   A lazy morning with my new Stampin Up! catalogue .......  more things to add to the wish list! I did pop into town briefly this afternoon ..... I had a few bits to pick up and I also managed to grab a couple of bargains in the sale ..... not like me at all!!  And we've had the little man today,  so lots to keep me busy there ........ I'm getting quite the dab hand with Meccano!!
I even managed to sneak a little time in the old craft room too ..... so all in all, a very productive day.

If you read yesterday's post you'll have seen that I've made a start in one of my Dylusions Art Journals ..... I've finally plucked up the courage to get some ink and paint in the small one and I'm loving it!
In the past I've always done things on loose pieces of card or paper .... I didn't want to 'spoil' my journals but ..... enough is enough.  It's time to get over it .......  and just do it!!
 
It's all thanks to the lovely Jennie Boxall who has started up Creative Journaling 365 on Facebook. A group dedicated to journaling 365 days of the year ..... not sure I'll manage that but hey, I'm giving it a go!
There's no rules to follow, you can do as much or as little as you like and you can share your pages in the group.  There's already lots of fabulous artwork on there ...... great ideas from everyone, and if you get really stuck then Jennie does give a prompt each day when she shares her artwork, but you don't have to use it ..... you can just do your own thing.

Here's pages 2, 3 and 4 .... still haven't finished number 5 yet!

Page 2 ....... stencils

This is the ARTplorations Happy Flowers stencil from STAMPlorations.
The background was already coloured .......... see yesterdays post for products used  - I did both pages in one go!  The only difference is I didn't use the texture paste in the background, I used it through the main stencil instead.
White texture paste ..... then once it was dry, I put the stencil back in place and used Distress Inks to add colour

The words are form a JOFY set stamps, simply stamped onto white card and then cut and arranged over the page

I finished off with some black gesso splatters  across the page and added a few lines in the corner using some white paint applied with the edge of an old credit card

Page 3 ........ my current favourite ...... using scraps of paper

How cute are these guys ..... JOFY's lovebirds
I've used old book pages for the birds, coloured with Distress Inks ......

and scraps of designer papers found in my bit box for the bird house .....

and the leaves ....

The branch (another JOFY stamp) was stamped and embossed, and then coloured using Distress Ink

and the words are one of my favourite phrases from a set of Dylusions stamps.

You can see I've cut the individual lines and arranged them over the whole page.

Page 4 ....... large and small

Still keeping on the subject of wings I went for butterflies this time ..... lots of them, in different sizes.

Before I started stamping I stuck in a couple of bits of torn bookpage and painted over them, not too much as I still wanted to see some of the text in the background.
When this as dry I started the stamping.  First up I stamped the largest butterfly and embossed it using Ranger's Liquid Platinum EP .... love this! Then using simple masking to create a bit of depth, I stamped the rest of the butterflies across the page

I added in a touch of stenciling to the background ......

And finished off with some words ..... you never know I may just hand the words at some point, but for now my stamps are doing the work (my hand writing isn't that good to be honest!!)

That's 4 pages done .... and 5 is nearly finished.  Not sure it'll get done over the weekend though.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of the weekend.
I think a nice glass of red is on the cards for this evening .... it'll go well with the chilli con carne .... cheers!

Cheerio until next time