Two Simple Journals for Megs Garden - Part #1

Hello sweet friends and welcome!  So pleased to have you drop by.

As you would have guessed by the Title, I am here to share two Journals with you.  Both have been created with some wonderful papers from Megs Garden. 

I have used the A4 digital versions of two Collections ..  In the Watercolour Garden and Slightly Grunge, and I have also used papers from the Mini Book printed version of the Sherlock II Mini Book Kit.

These are the two books I created.

The journal on the left will be used for sketching and Mixed Media work and the one on the right I will use to practice my hand writing.  Believe me, I need lots of practice (LOL!!).  I used to have a reasonably neat hand but, over the years, it has degenerated quite badly so this little book will help  me to get it back in shape.  I hope!!!
Now, originally, I was going to show both books in the same post but found it would be way too big (lots of photos) so I have decided to do this in two parts.

In this post I will show you the Art Journal.
The idea and basic design of this Journal came from a You Tube video by Jen of Eve Designs.  It is a very easy book to make and Jen explains it very well so, if you would like to take a look, HERE is the link

I made my book from cardstock (it measures 5.5" x 8") and then decorated the cover by simply layering papers  and ephemera from the Mini Book Kit.   I added a little stamping and the flourishes in the corners were done with a Tim Holz Stencil and Distress Ink.
Punched an eyelet into the front cover and knotted a double length of twine through it and then attached the beads.  The twine simply wraps around the book and is looped through.  The weight of the beads help to keep it closed.

 The inside cover and the first signature. 

The paper on the inside cover is from the Slightly Grunge Collection.  All I have done here is added the stamps.  The grid and coffee stain are from Kaisercraft and the quote is from My Favourite Things.

As per the video, there are three signatures in this book (the inside pages are 160gm white paper).

Each of these signatures have been sewn into the spine ..

.. and I have made a little cover for each of them.
 The papers used on each of these covers is from the Sherlock II Mini Book Kit.  Again, the only thing added here are the stamps.

Back of the first signature and front of the second.

These papers have so much detail on them they would certainly stand on their own without any embellishment.  I have only added the stenciled flourishes here.  

 Again, all I have added here are the flourishes.  The postal stamp and faded script are all part of the papers. 

Back of second signature and front of third.

Sorry, but I have to keep repeating myself.  All I have added here is the flourish stencil.

 And, again, only added the stamp and the stencil.

 Back of the third signature and the inside back cover.

 Yep, just added the flourish!!

 The inside back cover is paper from the Slightly Grunge Collection as is the paper on the flap.  And .. again .. just added the splatter stamp and the flourish stencil.

The back cover of the journal has paper from the Mini Book Kit and .. wait for it .. all I added was the splatter stamp and the flourish stencil!!  LOL!!  Sorry!!

A closer look at the closure ..

 .. and a full frontal!!

As you've obviously noticed, (and I kept on, and on, and on, and on, telling you (LOL!!) ) there are no extra embellishments in this journal.  Firstly, as this will be a work book, I really didn't want anything  dimensional getting in the way.  Secondly, these papers are so detailed, I really didn't need to put anything more on them.  I added the stamps and stencil simply because I felt I should do some kind of embellishment even though it wasn't really necessary!

I hope you enjoyed my post and my little book and that I have inspired you to take a look at the video and make one for yourself.  Also, why not go and take a look at the fabulous range of other papers and embellishments available at Megs Garden.  I know you will find something that will be perfect for whatever you are creating.   And, if you're looking for more inspiration, why not also take a look at the fabulous creations by the rest of the Team.  HERE is the link to the Megs Garden Blog.

I am entering this Journal into the inaugural Challenge at
Mini Album Makers Challenge Blog

Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope you will come back and take a look at the second journal as well.
Take care and God Bless.
Marg oxox

2016 Christmas Cards #2

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog, hope you are all enjoying your day.

Seems like the weather in Adelaide is definitely heading into winter mode .. has been a little chilly of late.  Have to say, I much prefer that to the heat of summer.  It is so much easier to just rug up and get yourself warm than it is to strip off and cool yourself down.  Besides, I think my stripping off days are way, way behind me.  LOL!!

So, I am here to share a Christmas card with you.  Yep, you read that right .. a Christmas card.  After last Christmas I decided I was going to make at least two Christmas cards each month so that, by the time Christmas did arrive, I would have at least some of my cards done.  Well, you know what happened to that idea don't you?? .. totally went out the window.  I made one in January and that was it.  Now, we are already into April, and I thought it was about time to get some more done.

The papers used are the left-overs from last years cards and are from Kaisercraft's Holy Night 12 x 12 Paper Pad.  I love the traditional colours for Christmas so these papers are perfect for me.

The large bloom is the Azalea from Green Tara and is available at Megs Garden HERE.
The different berry sprays and the twine are from my stash and the leaves were cut on my Silouette.

I created a small banner from the papers, added the gold sticker and then mounted it onto the card with some dimensional adhesive dots.

Popped some Art Extravaganza White Crackle Texture Paste (boy, that's a mouthful) through a Prima Dots & Stripes stencil and was going to add a bit of glitter here and there but, unfortunately, I used it all up and forgot to get some more.  Duhh!!!

So, when it was all done, I splooshed around some gesso and also added a few prills here and there.

The inside ready for a quote and message.

So, I now have two Christmas cards for this year and hopefully there will be some more to share soon.  Hopefully!!!!  LOL!!

I am entering this into the challenge over at Christmas Card Challenges HERE

Thank you so much for visiting and do enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.

(Just a quick update .. I won!!  I am so thrilled that my card was chosen from all the lovely entries.  Thank you to everyone at Christmas Card Challenges.  I feel very honoured.)

Christmas with Feeling Sketchy #133

Hi everyone!!  Welcome, and thank you for dropping by, so nice to have you visit.

I started making my Christmas cards for this year a few weeks ago.  Haven't made very many yet but am totally stoked that I actually managed to get them started this early.  Well, early for me anyway.  It's usually December before I even start thinking about them and to have actually started making them in November is amazing!!  I am so proud of myself!!  Anyways, I thought, seeing as I was making cards anyway, why not make one for a Challenge, and so the card I am about to share with you was made for the Feeling Sketchy Challenge # 133.
I saw the sketch thanks to Lizzy Crust at Crumbs of Creativity (love her work!!) and thought it would be perfect for one of my cards so ..

This is the sketch  ..

 .. and this is my interpretation.

I have used papers from Megs Garden's  'A Musical Christmas' Mini Paper Pack and turned the sketch upside down ('cos I could!!)  LOL!!

This large bloom was white originally.  I simply sprayed it with Dylusions Cherrie Pie Ink Spray.

I've had those gold 'Merry Christmas' stickers in my stash for years.  Found them again while I was cleaning up and they came in very handy!

The tickets to the North Pole are from an old Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet and the little bauble spray was pulled out of a Christmas decoration which was bought specifically for use on my cards!

Created a pocket for a Gift Voucher by fussy cutting one of the paper sheets.  The quote at the top is a cut apart from another Kaisercraft collection.

Created a bit of 'snow' on my card by adding some spots of gesso and then, while it was still wet, sprinkling it with some glitter.  You can't see it too well on these photos but it looks really pretty!!  Pamelia Johnson did a fabulous tutorial on the Frilly and Funkie site.  Her card is a lot snowier than mine but I did use some of her technique!!

So, another card done, and a Challenge entered!!
At the beginning of the year I had intended to enter at least one Challenge each month.  Well, that never happened so, I'm thinking, maybe next year!  Maybe!!  You never know!!

Thank you so much for visiting and here is the Link again for the Feeling Sketchy Challenge.  Why not have a go??  It's really fun and so easy to make a card following a sketch!

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day!!
Happy Christmas Crafting!!
Take care and God Bless.

'Butterfly' Art Journal Page

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  Sorry that I haven't posted for a while but, unfortunately, life keeps getting in the way.  Every time I think things are getting straightened out, they go whoopsie again.  Going to try making up a schedule for myself just to get everything sorted, including my scrappy stuff.  Might work, might not, we'll just have to see.

Anyway, I would like to share an Art Journal page with you today.
Our Creative Corner has a Tic Tac Toe Challenge this month.  The idea is to choose one line from the grid below and create something using those items or techniques.  To take a look at the Challenge HERE is the Link.

 So, I have chosen the middle line and decided to create an Art Journal page using paints, stamps and stencils.

Started off by sponging on a coat of watered down gesso.  In the past gesso hasn't worked for me.  I have no idea why but when I brush it on, like I've seen lots of other people do, I find I can't get the paint to stick too well.  Then I watched a video by Di Garling and she lightly sponged her background with watered down gesso so I thought I would try that out, and it worked!!!   Now, I realize my background looks fairly pale, but that is the way I wanted it.  Had I added more layers of the sprays it would have come out a lot darker.  (In real life it is actually a bit darker than the photo shows)

The sprays I've used are simply watered down acrylic paints.  I do have some Distress Sprays and some Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays, but not in the colours I was after, so paint was the alternative. Besides which, I needed to use paints to keep to the Challenge criteria.  LOL!!

Once the sprays were dry I added the stenciling with Texture paste and with gesso and when that was dry I did a little stamping.

You can see some of the stenciling here ...

... and more of it here.

For the flower petals I cut some hearts from old book paper, inked them with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, then lightly edged them with Gathered Twigs DI.

The first layer was simply glued to the page and then the second layer was only glued at the centre so they could be curled up a little to make them more three dimensional.

Did the same with the butterfly.  This time I cut both shapes from plain paper and then stamped it on each wing with different stamps.  Inked again with the Spiced Marmalade DI and I coloured in the floral stamp with some watercolour crayons.  The pen nib was coloured with a Versacolor stamp pad and then coated in clear crackle paint.

A closie of some of the stamping ...

... and the finished double page!!

Hope you like my little page.  I thoroughly enjoyed creating it.  Even though I had criteria to fill for the Challenge, it is still quite liberating to just go with the flow and do whatever you feel like at the time.

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.