#365Challenge.... 01-07 April

Hi

April has been a quite a busy month so far and I'm playing catch-up with the #365 Challenge.

Each month I plan to work on a different size page/different size book.  April's pages are 5 inches (12.5cm) square.... I chose this size because (Goldilocks stylee) it wasn't too big, it wasn't too small - it was just right... or so I thought at the start of the month.

Each month I also use a different font/stamp set for the dates/page numbers - so far these have been quite discreetly added to the page in a corner (or on a tag or similar)...

  (January Alphabet: Purple Onion Designs; February Alphabet: PaperArtsy; March Alphabet: Ma Vinci's Reliquary

For April's pages I decided to bring the alphabet front and centre - make it a feature of each page... The alphabet I chose is one by DoCrafts/Papermania - its the 'Typography Clear Stamp' and each number is 5x8cm... 

this seemed like a great size to work with - nice and big, an clear outline so I would be able to use it in lots of different ways...  and this was OK for dates 1 to 9 (single figures) but when there are two numbers for each day (which, lets face it, is the majority of the month!) things were going to get a little bit crowded on the page... 

but I will  not be beaten and will try to resist increasing to a 6x6 inch page... 

(I like a challenge.... sigh!)

(and lets not forget the 'Flow' calendar questions...)

01 April:  'How good are you at setting boundaries?'  hhhmm not really something I set myself - more like guidelines to live/work by... (very flexible guidelines.. lol)

02 April:  'What would the title be of my autobiography?' lol I seriously considered 'I came, I saw, I created a mess!' but went instead with the one on today's page... the background is created with the new Distress Oxide inks - Worn Lipstick, Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain.

03 April:  The number on this page is stamped onto the surface - I cut around part of the image so the journalling panel could be slotted underneath.

 The poppy heads (JOFY34) are stamped and embossed in copper (WOW!)

This is a great stamp set - the diamond background and the washi tape strips are handy little elements, as is the tag (I used it on April 1st's page)... handy for journalling..

04 April:  Yes, the writing is upside down, the number and stamped flowers aren't - and thats how I planned it - another way of 'disguising' the journalling...

05 April:  I really like stamping on top of vintage book text - this is a Polish music book, the stamps are JOFY23 and JM33.

06 April:  Flow question: 'Do you find it easy to admit your mistakes?' lol  Make mistakes?!? Me!! Never lol

07 April:  Flow questions: 'What would I never do again?'  I am NEVER EVER going on a loop-the-loop rollercoaster again - EVER!!  I didn't mean to do it the first time and it is a never to be repeated experience.
The background on the page was created with the Distress Oxides again, I was experimenting how bleach (basic thick household bleach) affected the colour...

So that's week one of April... Don't get me wrong I'm enjoying using the big numbers - definitely going to be a challenge though when I get to the latter half of the month....

All part of the fun... I didn't call it the #365 Challenge for nothing! 

Thanks for popping by

x

ALBOTAT: Brayered background card...

... that I made for my Mum-in-Law for Mother's Day...

The long white flower/seed stems are a Clarity Stamp stencil - I thought it worked really nicely with my bull rush stamp.

Here are the colours I used to created the brayered background - unusually they are all opaque which built the background up to be quite textural and similar to a matte pottery glaze.

 I cut it in half and edges the panels in different colours to see how it changed the look...

Fun card to make, and interesting to see how you can change the look of the pieces at the last moment by colouring the edges.

x

(PS - the colour change in the brayered backround between the first and last photos is caused by change in lighting - I either turned the lights on or off ... not sure which, sorry!)

** NEW ** JOFY 2015....

Thank goodness - I can share with you my latest JOFY product designs... and I'm so excited to show you...(its been hard not letting any information slip!)

Leandra's put together a video telling you all about this release...

and over on the PaperArtsy blog you can see lots of samples that myself and a group of lovely creatives made with the new products. Please take a visit - the samples are lovely.

Tomorrow I have a project to show you created with the new stamps.

Hope you enjoy the new release.

x