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Wednesday 17 December 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

This is the last challenge this year at the Craft Barn. I had lots of fun this year joining in and would like to thank the Craft Barn team for organizing these interesting challenges. Looking forward to what you have planned for us in the new year. 
Also thanks to all of you who visited my blog and left a comment. Very much appreciated. :) 
I also had lots of fun visiting your blogs and got lots of inspiration for future projects.

The challenge this time is to use the words FAITH and/or HARMONY in a quote or lyric.
I found a quote from George Washington with both words in it: 

"Observe good faith and justice towards all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all."
With all what's going on in the world at the moment, I think this is something everybody should think about and take it to heart.  
 
  For the background I've used a wash of different Distress inks. I printed out an image of a united world and the quote as well. Added some Distress inks to both and glued them on the page. I finished it off by drawing the border.


I wish you all
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2015
 
Thanks for looking :)

Tuesday 9 December 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

It's the penultimate challenge at the Craft Barn already. The challenge this time is to use the words HEART and/or RISK in a quote or lyric.
I finally was able to use a song of one of my all time favourite bands: INTERPOL. The song is called "Slow Hands" and the lyrics are: "Can you see what you've done to my heart? And Soul? This is a wasteland now"

I've made a mistake with the lyrics on my page, but hey...I left it like it is. :)

  For the background I've used a wash of different Distress inks. I've made a heart template and used Grunge Paste mixed with silver/grey acrylic paint with it. After it dried I've added some spiderweb stamps and sticked the hands on. I recently bought the Stampotique girl and thought she is just perfect for this project. So she went on in the middle of the heart. I drew a border around the page, wrote the lyrics around the heart and added some more spiderwebs.

 The stamps I've used are from Stampotique and Tim Holtz.
Looking forward to see what everybody else did. So will pop over to the Craft Barn blog now.
Thanks for all the lovely comments on my journey page. Very much appreciated.
Thanks for looking :)


Wednesday 19 November 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

A new challenge at the Craft Barn. The challenge this time is to use the words JOURNEY and/or FRIENDSHIP in a quote or lyric.
I went for journey and a song of another favourite singer of mine: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. The song is called "Into my arms"

Lyrics:
And I believe in Love
And I know that you do too
And I believe in some kind of path
That we can walk down, me and you
So keep your candles burning
And make her journey bright and pure
That she will keep returning
Always and evermore

  I've started by covering the whole background with black Gesso Then I've made 3 tags where I stamped the stars and added the border. I've stamped three hearts on red cardboard and added the stamped heads and the lover. On the black background I've drawn a white border and wrote the lyrics as well. Arranged the three tags and glued them on. 

The stamps I've used are from Craft Stamper mag., Paper Artsy and Crafty Individuals.
Another fun project. 

Thanks for all the nice comments on my Moon page. Very much appreciated.
Thanks for looking :)

Sunday 9 November 2014

Less Is More: One Layer - Starry, Starry Night
 
This card is for the new Less is More Challenge - Week 197.
The Challenge this week is a One Layer card with the theme: Starry, Starry Night.
  I was experimenting with the Northern Lights technique lately and thought that would work well with some stars. So I masked up a rectangle spot on my card, stamped some stars with VersaMark and embossed them with clear embossing powder. Then I added the different colours for the Northern Lights effect with Distress Inks and VersaFine. Check the technique out here.It's good fun. 

I've rubbed off the inks from the stars with a kitchen towel and added a border with a blue metallic ProMarker and the sentiment. Finally I filled in the stars with a clear Sakura gelly pen.
Thanks for looking :)



Sunday 2 November 2014

Stampotique Designer Challenge: SDC #171 Favourite Colours
 
This page is for the new Stampotique Designer Challenge: SDC #171:Favourite Colours.
My favourite colours are a combination of yellows, oranges, reds and browns. I've also used my favourite Paper Artsy stamps. 
Thanks for looking :)

   
The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

It's time again for a new challenge at the Craft Barn. The challenge this time is to use the words MOON and/or SENSATION in a quote or lyric.
I did a search on Google and found "The Hanging Garden" by The Cure. I love the Cure (and this song) since I was a teenager so that was an easy one :)
The lyrics are:
Catching haloes on the moon
Gives my hands the shapes of angels
In the heat of the night
The animals scream
In the heat of the night
Walking into a dream . . .


  I made another page in my journal and got the inspiration for the background once again from an article in Craft Stamper. I've stamped the moons and stars and heat embossed them afterwards. Added black paint all over the page and once nearly dry, I've rubbed the paint off the embossed images. Then added some gel medium through a stencil in some places and let it dry. After that I've applied some black gesso and white paint. I cut around the edges and glued the page to a black background. Wrote the band name and song title around the main page in white and added the printed out lyric. 

This was good fun.   
Thanks for looking :)


Sunday 19 October 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

The weather is pretty bad today so I had plenty of time for the new challenge at the Craft Barn. The challenge this time is to use the words HUG and/or NOWHERE in a quote or lyric.
I knew immediately that I wanted to go with NOWHERE and to choose the lyrics from a song of a band which I discovered recently. 
The band is "Canterbury" and the song is: "Going Nowhere". Check them out, they are really good. Their CD is on constant repeat in my car at the moment :)
  I made another page in my journal and got the inspirations from an article in Craft Stamper. For the background I've used white and light blue acrylic paints and some gesso and blue paint with a stencil in the corners. Then added a couple of stamps and some Washi tape. Stamped 3 stars on red paper, cut them out and glued them to the page. Finally printed out the lyrics and added them as well.  

The stamps are from Craft Stamper magazine, Sheena Douglas and Inkadinkado. 
Thanks for looking :)

Sunday 12 October 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge
 
It's time for the new challenge at the Craft Barn. The challenge is to use the words DESTINY and/or GIFT in a quote or lyric.
The quote I went for is from Leonardo Da Vinci: "I have always felt it is my destiny to build a machine that would allow man to fly."

  I made another page in my art journal for this one. I found a great set of Da Vinci stamps from Stamp Addicts which are perfect for the quote. 

I've made the main background using brown Distress Ink and a crackle background stamp from Crafty Individuals. I prepared the second background with a mix of Gesso and orange glaze. I then added some Distress Inks to it and used the Da Vinci background stamp with Staz-On inks. 
I've heat embossed Da Vinci's head and printed out the quote and added both to the background. 
Looking forward to see what everybody is doing with the new prompts.
Thanks for looking :)


Saturday 4 October 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

Phew, I've just made it for the current challenge at the Craft Barn. The challenge is to use the words BETTER and/or PATIENCE in a quote or lyric.
I used the word BETTER and the quote is: It's better to live one day as a lion than a thousand years as a lamb. 

The quote inspired Zack de la Rocha, the vocalist of Rage Against the Machine and Jon Theodore, former drummer of The Mars Volta to name their band "One day as a lion"
Please check them out on You tube here.

  For this tag I added Memento ink directly to the background and sprinkled some gold Perfect Pearls over it. I've added some patterned paper to it and stamped the images on the tag. The stamps are from Viva Decor.

Looking forward to the new prompts tomorrow.
Thanks for looking :)

Sunday 24 August 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

 The new challenge over at the 
Craft Barn is to use the words PEACEFUL and/or GRACE in a quote or lyric.
I found a couple of songs with the word GRACE in it, but I went for Jeff Buckley's song Grace at the end. 

I like Jeff Buckley a lot, he is(was) such a talented artist. Unfortunately he died in 1997 aged only 30.
Please check out the song here

  For this page I made a watercolour background. Cut out a tag from a sparkling cardboard and coloured it with Alcohol inks
. I've printed out the lyrics and glued it on the tag. I then added images of Jeff Buckley to the page and some collage elements. 
This was good fun and I enjoyed making this page a lot. 


 Looking forward to see what everybody is making for this challenge. Thanks a lot for all the lovely comments left for my THING page :)

Tuesday 19 August 2014

Craft-Room Challenge - Cats

I spent some time today to make a card for the new Craft-Room Challenge.

The Challenge theme is Cats and since I love cats (and dogs :) ) this was good fun.


For the background I've just used red Pan Pastels. Than I used some distress paper and ran it through a polka dot embossing folder. After that I've sandpapered it to make the red appear form underneath. 

The cat stamp is from Stampendous and the quote from Dylusions. I've used black VersaFine for both stamps. 


Thanks for looking :)

Sunday 10 August 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

We've got a new challenge over at the 
Craft Barn today.
The Challenge this time is to use the words THING and/or FAMILY in a quote or lyric.

I decided to do another page in my art journal and found a Dylusions stamp with the following quote, which I like a lot:

Enjoy the little things in life...
for one day you'll look 

back and realize 
they were the big things.

 Then I browsed the July Issue of the Craft Stamper magazine in search for some inspirations and found a technique called: Tattered & Torn. 
 So for this page I used Distress Inks and VersaFine. The stamps are from Dylusions and Papermania. Finally some lace as borders. 

 
Looking forward to see what everybody is making for this challenge. Thanks a lot for all the lovely comments left for my MIND page :)
Less Is More: One Layer - Foliage
 
This card is for the new Less is More Challenge - Week 184.
The Challenge this week is a One Layer card with the theme: Foliage.
  I've sponged some Big and Juicy Foliage Ink on the masked up part of the card. Then I stamped the leaves with VersaMark (the stamp is from Crafty Individuals) and embossed it with white embossing powder from Stampendous. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamps.

Thanks for looking :)




Sunday 27 July 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

After a wee break without any inspirations at all (I blame it on the weather, it's too hot for Scotland :) )  I managed to make another journal page for the 

new Craft Barn Challenge.
The Challenge this time is to use the words MIND and/or IGNORANCE in a quote or lyric.
 
I was sure from the beginning that I wanted to use the word MIND for this one and I found a sheet of quotes (a freebie in a craft magazine) with the quote: "I can't get you out off my mind" on it. So I went for it.
For the background I used 2 Dylusion Inks and a harlequin stencil. The postcard and the image in the right top corner are from Crafty Individuals. The hearts are die cuts or Grunge Board and the border is a Washi tape. The frame with the lyric on is another freebie from a craft magazine. 

Looking forward to see what everybody is making for this challenge. 
Thanks for looking. :)



Saturday 28 June 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

And here comes another journal page for the new Craft Barn Challenge.
The Challenge this time is to use the words VINTAGE and/or PROUD in a quote or lyric.
 
I wanted to use the word VINTAGE and found this quote: Keep calm and be vintage.
The background is made with different Distress Inks. I found the vintage letter stamps in one of our pound shops. 
Sorry for not commenting on most entries the last weeks. I've been on holiday and just back :)
Thanks for looking. 

 

Tuesday 3 June 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

And here comes another journal page for the new Craft Barn Challenge.
The Challenge this time is to use the words MISTAKE and/or MOUNTAIN in a quote or lyric.
 
For this one I've used a lyric from one of my favourite bands: The Black Keys. The song is called : Next Girl. The lyrics go like this: "My next girl, will be nothing like my ex girl. I made mistakes back then, I'll never do it again." 
If you'd like to check out the song, you can find it here.
The background is made with 3 different Pan Pastels. I've used the positive and negative side of a woman stencil for the heads, some chalkboard speech bubbles for the lyric and Inkadinkado stamps for the corners.
Thanks for looking. 

Sunday 1 June 2014

Journal 52 - Week 3, 4, 5 & 6
I was busy working on my next Journal 52 pages. Here we go:
Week 3: You make me smile
For this week’s prompt, think of the quirky, silly, happy things that make you smile or the people in your life that you love imperfections and flaws and all (because none of us are “perfect”.) 


Okay, there are a lot of things and people that make me smile, but at the moment butterflies as a sign of spring/summer make me smile, when I see one. 

Week 4: Building Character
For this week’s prompt, create you own character for your art journal. Your character could be a reflection of yourself or someone you admire or even a completely made-up person. Your character can be serious or silly or somewhere in between. 


I've made a similar page for a moleskine swap at one of my Yahoo Groups and decided I would like to have it in my journal as well. 

Week 5: Abstract Art Inspiration
For this week’s prompt, create an abstract art page in your journal. Use colors, shapes, lines, textures. You can choose whether to paint, draw, or collage.


I've made this page without really thinking about it too hard. It came out quite spontaneous and I loved splashing around the paints :)

Week 6: The Lost Art of Love Letters
For this week’s prompt, take inspiration from a love letter. Use a love letter quote or try writing your own love letter to a friend or family member, your sweetheart, secret crush, or even to yourself.  


Okay, I have to admit, I'm not really a romantic type, so writing love letters are not my cup of tea at all. I found this French Poem instead and I really like it :)
According to Google it translates like this:
"My love, love is crazy. We are the sun and rain. With one another: a rainbow sky. But for just a moment."






Thursday 29 May 2014

Tag Along - Tag #40

This tag is for the Tag Along Challenge #40. 

The Challenge theme is Tick Tock.
I've used a Tim Holtz clock mask and Distress inks for the background. The wings are made from grungeboard and I've added a real clock face to it. Also added some vellum and the stamped quote. 

Thanks for looking.


Sunday 25 May 2014

Journal 52 - Week 2 

I worked on my next Journal 52 page.

The prompt for Week 2 is: Somewhere, a simple place
"Think of places you love. Maybe it is the library, your home, the kitchen, a garden, the place where you create, a travel destination or being surrounded with family or friends. Maybe your place is imaginary. Think of things you enjoy that are related to places and spaces in your life – or maybe a place you wish existed."

This was quite easy for me, because my happy place is my couch. :)
And here it is. The background is yellow acrylic paint, where I doodle a border around it. A photo of my couch and some Maya Road Chipboards coloured with Distress Inks and white dots.


Saturday 24 May 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

I've made another journal page for the new Craft Barn Challenge.
The Challenge this time is to use the words MUSIC and/or PASSION in a quote or lyric.
 
Since I just love Music the choice was easy. I went for "Music keeps me sane", which is just the right quote for me.
The background is made with blue Pan Pastels where I scribbled a staffs border. I coloured some notes stickers with a black marker and added the stickers randomly to the staffs. Since I can't read notes and these notes probably don't make any sense at all I apologize to everybody who has the skill to read them. *lol*  

I then printed out a sun template and coloured the sun with yellow effect acrylic paint. I added the quote in the middle of the sun and wrote a selection of my (old and new) favourite songs (there are loads more) in the sunbeams. 
 Thanks to all the nice comments on my "unique" page, so very kind of you. I love visiting all your entries. It's so much fun how everybody interprets the prompts differently. 
Thanks for looking.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Journal 52 - Week 1

While visiting BIeubeard & Elizabeth's blog I came across this cool blog called Journal 52 hosted by Chelle Stein.
Every week for a year she will give prompts for an art journal page. They are already at week 20, but I will try to catch up.
Since I'm not on Facebook or Flickr, I will just publish it here. 

Just for me or whoever will visit.
Feel free to leave a comment if you like. :)
So, here are my first two pages. 


1. Cover page


For the background I used three different pan pastel colours and then doodled the border and the swirls. I've written the letters and the number in Word and printed them out.
 
********************************************************************************
 
Week 1 : Up, Up and away

This is Chelle's prompt: "Think of some things that float or fly through the air – a hot air balloon, a butterfly, an airplane, a bird, clouds, or even a made-up creature from your imagination. Draw, paint, collage (or a combination of all these!) – what “Up, Up, and Away!” means to you. For some, it could be about finding your wings or learning to fly or letting go or setting dreams off to flight…whatever you can imagine!"

I'd love to have more time to see all the great places in the world and go up, up and away from everything.
So here's my take on it:
Again, I used Pan Pastels for the background and added different collage elements to the page.

Sunday 11 May 2014

Less Is More: One Layer
 
This card is for the new Less is More Challenge - Week 171.
The Challenge this week is a One Layer "Thank You" card.

  I've used Memento inks (Rose Bud and Black) for this card. 

The sentiment is from Creative Expressions. I don't know where the flower stamp is from. It came in a grab bag, that I bought years ago. 

 





This is how the card looked first, however it just didn't feel right.










So I decided to add a border with the same ink (Rose Bud) as the flowers. 
For me this was the finishing touch that the card needed. 
Thanks for looking :)

Saturday 10 May 2014

Artful Times: Mail Art

This envelope and postcard are for the Artful Times Challenge 55.
The Challenge theme is Mail Art.

I had some fun with my new Pan Pastels for the backgrounds of both items and also used some Washi Tape.

The stamps are from PaperArtsy, Tim Holtz and Lili of the Valley.

Tuesday 6 May 2014

The Craft Barn: Q & L Challenge

I've made another journal page for the new Craft Barn Challenge.
The Challenge is to use the words UNIQUE and/or FAME in a quote or lyric.
 
First I searched for "Fame" but wasn't happy with what I found. When I searched for "Unique and lyric" I found this really beautiful Reggae-style song called "Unique is my dove" by Matisyahu. If you like, you can check it out here.
The background is a mix of Distress Stains and I used a olive branch stamp across the page. I covered the dove image with VersaMark and heat embossed the whole image with clear embossing powder and added a crown. The text at the bottom is the chorus of the song. 



Saturday 3 May 2014

Happy Birthday Card

This card is for the new Less is More Challenge - Week 170 and for CAS(E) this Sketch! Challenge #74. The Challenge theme for Less is More is Three colours or Three shades of one colour. The CAS(E) sketch looks like this:

  I've decided to go for three colours and they are Spanish Moss, Satin Red and Majestic Blue form VersaFine. The border stamp is from Docrafts Papermania range, which I had to bend a little to get the curves.