butterfly collage

Apologies for being AWOL last week, work was manic, including the weekends!!  Life of a teacher eh!

But this weekend just gone I made time to play around with some stamped collage elements in my journal.  I'm particularly enjoying using pencil on my journal pages

This weekend I'm meeting up with crafty friends so they'll be more journaling happening I'm sure :)

Stampotique stamps used:

paris postcard  #8964  Carol's Collection

small butterfly  #3018    by Jo Capper-Sandon

baroque background  #7109  Amy Wilson-Wellenstein

numeric  #7164  by Amy Wilson-Wellenstein

Unfinished!

Sometimes a journal page just sits there for a while ...

...and sometimes that 'while' can be a lonnnnng one!  This page started off with some brown spray which sat in my journal for ages.  I recently added some blue (love blue and brown together), didn't like it so used my solution to most pages I don't like - white paint/spray through a stencil :)

I love those large circles so complemented them with one of Stampotique's new release images - Daniel's circles.  They're stamped over one of my very favourite Stampotique images - numeric.

So now I have a double page spread I love, but is still unfinished...

...and that's okay!  It's just the way of art journaling flows.

art journaling on the train

It might look like it ..

but this isn't quite the same journal that I've been enjoying working in recently.  I took a baggie of art journaling supplies away with me on our recent trip to London, including my little Daler Rowney journal (which is about 4"x 6" in size, a nominal A6) but when it came to the journey home I realised I'd accidentally packed it into my suitcase!

Fortunately we'd happened to shop at the Chelsea School of Art and Design shop (next to the Tate Britain, open to the public, very very cheap :)  ) and that journal I did have in my bag! It's a proper square but similar in size to my Daler Rowney (Sea White chunky small, approx 5.5" square)

What I LoVe about working in artist quality sketchbooks is that the paper is heavy enough to take wet media so no gessoing, no gluing of pages together to make them thick enough etc

Having said that, I did glue in a brusho background before collaging on top (with more brusho backgrounds, letraset and those gorgeous stamped numerals!!)  !

It was a very therapeutic activity for a train journey!

Stampotique stamps used:

numeric  #7164  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

antique description  #7228  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

romantic text  #10028  by France Papillon

circles on a journal page

I am very happy with this journal page spread!

It started off as a bit of a rubbish gelli print which I painted over with some turquoise brusho, thinking it might lift it - it did!!

Then I started playing around with Daniel's circles cube from Stampotique

and lots of variety in text and numerals.  The background numeral piece is from my scratch paper on my worktable; it's how I clean my stamps - by stamping them repeatedly on scrap paper!!

Add some doodling ... and Sarah is a happy art journaller!!

Stampotique Stamps used:

Daniel's circles cube  #6184  by Daniel Torrente

Romantic Text  #10028  by France Papillon

Numeric  #7164  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Baroque Background  #7109  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Antique Description  #7228  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

an art journal page with a french influence!

This journal page just kind of evolved; it started off as a scrap piece of paper but the sponged ink through the stencil took over and I love how many of France Papillon's new release for Stampotique made it onto the page!

I was also thrilled to discover that France's romantic text refers to a visit to a chateau, which I thought co-ordinated brilliantly with her chandelier  and made for a great collection of collage images.

Stampotique stamps used:

France's chandelier  #10023   France Papillon

romantic text  #10028  France Papillon

optique  #10027  France Papillon

ticket for paris  #10026  France Papillon

text block 3  #7140  Amy Wilson Wellenstein

numeric  #7164  Amy Wilson Wellenstein

baroque background  #7109  Amy Wilson Wellenstein

dreams

Just fancied making a tag featuring Midge and some stars!

Love how it came together :)

Stampotique stamps used:

Grow your Dreams  #7321  by Maria Sabina Raita

Small Moon  #3045  by Jo Capper-Sandon

Daisy, Daisy  #3082  by Jo Capper-Sandon

Midge  #9190  by Janet Klein

Barcode  #10019  by France Papillon

Row of Numbers  #7213  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

a little flower

Really enjoyed making this little postcard :)  After using a stencil with spray inks I added colour with ink on a sponge and some background stamping.

The flowers were stamped in grey and added to the postcard (I just love that black and white contrast with colour!) before finishing it off with a suitable quote.

Stampotique stamps used:

text block #3    by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

sunflower large  by Janet Klein

sunflower medium  by  Janet Klein

living is not enough   by Carol's Collection

back to my art journal

Been playing in my journal again :)

I used some 'scratch paper' as the background for my page then played with my Stampotique stamps.

This is in my 'paperback book' sized journal which I got from Paperchase aaaaaages ago but love for it's different size.

Stampotique stamps used:

2 nuages (fr)  #9248 by Janet Klein

row of numbers  #7213  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

numeric  #7164  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

barcode  #10019  by France Papillon

raindrops  #5820  by Magda Polakow

dog  #2433  by Roc Nicholas

rain text  #12022   by Linda Peterson

daisy, daisy  #3002  by Jo Capper-Sandon

Meet Cinth and say Hi!

Although she's a touch un-seasonal she's a jolly, good-natured little person who lives very happily, just the kind of person you want to be around!

Stampotique stamps used:

Dotted Line  #7107  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Antique Description  #7228  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Design Cube  #10012  by France Papillon

Hiya Cinth  #9174  by Janet Klein

Sunflower large  #9256  by Janet Klein

dreaming on a journal page

Still working in my little passport sized Moleskine journal but with only two pages left it's very nearly complete.  I switch between working in different sized journals depending on my mood, so I must be going through a small journal phase at the moment!!

This isn't want I originally intended for this image but that's the great thing about journaling, ideas flow as you work with the imagery (and I still have my original idea to work on!!).

It makes me think of the story of 'Where the wild things are' for some reason!!

Stampotique stamps used:

Dreamer  #12003  Linda Peterson

2 Nuages (Fr)  #9248  Janet Klein

Grow your dreams  #7231  Maria Sabina Raita

Sunflower medium  #9257  Janet Klein

Baroque background  #7109  Amy Wilson Wellenstein

a journal page

I love it when I have a nearly finished journal (which doesn't happen often!) as it gives me the oomph I sometimes need to get journaling!  This is my passport sized moleskine journal.

I couldn't find my gelli plate but did find a cellophane packet so inked it up, sprayed it with water and printed it onto my gessoed page.

Some added depth of colour using a sponge .... and that's where I forgot I was taking step by step photos!  Oops!

There's a bit of text stamped in the background for added texture, then I stamped 'Daniel's hearts' in black directly onto the page.  They didn't stamp well in the centre so I stamped them again on another inked up piece of paper, cut them out and added them to the page.

A little quasimoto and a quote and my page was done.

Stampotique stamps used:

Daniel's hearts  #6109  Daniel Torrente

Quasimoto #3  #6015  Daniel Torrente and Jill Penney

Antique Description  #7228  Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Whole Heart  #12011  Linda Peterson

what is it about the white/kraft combo?

My fab friend Chris, of Pearshaped Crafting, shared a little notebook she'd covered earlier this week so whilst in the Trafford Centre last night (the local shopping Mall for my US and other overseas visitors!) I bobbed into Muji to get my own for only 60p!

I stamped mine with antique description and embossed it with fine detail white embossing powder before adding cockatoo screech and my own speech bubble.  This little A5 notebook is perfect for keeping in my handbag, just as Chris suggests :)  Thanks Chris!!

Stampotique stamps used

antique description #7228  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein 

cockatoo screech #5512  by Kylie DiOrio

row of numbers #7213  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

loving this envelope

 Stampotique do some great background stamps and one of my particular favourites at the moment is baroque background.  I even dug out the embossing powder for this project :)

 

Stampotique stamps used:

baroque background  #7109 by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

antique description  #7228 by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

star flower  #2021 by Maryse Carrier

whole heart  #12011  by Linda Peterson

Happy Birthday!

My little girl was 17 this week and as she's just finished a dance show Hazel dancing was the perfect image!

I used one of my new stamps 'Baroque background' for the grass, and Janet's lovely clouds cover up all the black smudges I can't help but add to my cards!!!

A few sparkles in the daisies and I was happy with my card.  Sorry for the short post, it's sheer madness at work at the moment!

Stampotique Stamps Used:

Dance  #12024  by Linda Peterson

Baroque Background  #7109  by Amy Wilson Wellenstein

Daisy, Daisy  #3002  by Jo Capper-Sandon

2 Nuages (Fr)  #9248  by Janet Klein

horse on a tag

 

I ordered some new stamps direct from Stampotique and they arrived a few days ago ..

... definitely a happy parcel!  These are stamps I haven't been able to get hold of in the UK, otherwise I would support a 'local' stamp store.  The ones I know of here that stock Stampotique are a sprinkle of imagination, art from the heart, the cubby hole and the stamp attic.

I had a play with my distress inks the yesterday; I'd forgotten how vivid the colours were!  So when I wanted a strong green background for my lovely pink yummy horse I got them out.  This was made easier by the fact that just after my op, when I couldn't move much, I labelled them all and organised them into colours :)

I also made the background that I stamped 'horse' on using distress, this time the minis.  I followed Tim's June 2014 tag technique of inking up the back of a stencil (I used Tim Holtz' doily layering stencil), spraying it with water then stamping with it.  Once it was dry I stamped 'horse' over the top and cut him out.

I love finding random sentences in old books and I decided this one fitted 'horse' perfectly!  I made another tag using horse, which you can see over on the Stampotique Designers Blog.

Stampotique stamps used:

numeric by Amy Wilson Wellenstein  #7164

horse by Roc Nicholas   #2408

paris postcard from Carol's Collection  #8964
row of numbers by Amy Wilson Wellenstein  #7213