Journaling in my Passport -sized Traveler's Notebook

I treated myself to a passport sized Traveler's Notebook on Black Friday, and saved it for Christmas.

Inside I have a kraft notebook, a lined notebook and a week-at-a-view diary.

I'm using the kraft notebook as a 'glue book' (love that term).  I was reminiscing with my brother-in-law on Christmas day about the wrapping paper our presents were wrapped in as children, and wishing I could see some now.  (Our stocking pressies, left by Father Christmas, were always wrapped in different paper to family presents, and it was ultra thin and scrunchy).  

This led me to collaging some bits of paper from this Christmas.  I LoVe cutting and sticking!

In my diary I am writing out a bible verse a day and there's more on this post if you're interested.  I've really enjoyed filling in spaces with scraps of paper and washi tape..

... and creating more art journal like pieces in larger gaps (such as the last week of December's page)

There was another double spread prior to this so I added some previously painted and sprayed paper and doodled, collaged and stamped over the top.

It's so good working small, it makes it achievable.

five layers of journaling

Still catching up on sharing my pages from my moleskine planner, inspired by the Original Documented Life Project and this is another of my favourites.

Art Challenge: Using at least Five Layers

The challenge was to use at least five layers and I was hugely inspired by the fabulous Art to the 5th Cardboard Crush workshop.

I painted up a strip of paper with a repeated mark and created five separate 'pages' that I then stitched together.

Each of the five 'pages' has five layers on it....

...and they lift up so are journaled on both sides.

I hope you get a good idea from these photos; it was hard to get good images of the way this page was put together!

I'm loving adding doodling to my pages :)

The above 'page' started off as a scrap of paper that I'd added some watercolour paint to.  I then doodled around a leaf shape and added some collage.

I'm not sure where this little guy came from - possibly an old lotto game.  I just loved him and decided he'd be happy in my journal.  I added art journaling to the other side of the card ...

Another page featured a verse from Documented Faith

I really can recommend this art challenge.  I'm loving it :)

Light it Up for Autism Awareness

Hello and welcome to the Light It Up Blue For Autism Awareness Blog Hop!  It's World Autism Awareness Day today and having friends with autism, friends with children with autism, and teaching kids with autism I was honoured to be asked to take part in this blog hop.

The National Autistic Society describes what autism is here.  

Lots of fantastic sponsors  have shown their support for Autism Awareness and you can see the complete list here: http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-light-it-up-blue-for-autism.html

If you would like a chance to win a prize from one of these fabulous companies leave a comment on this blog, and any of the other blogs participating in today's hop! You can find the other blogs taking part in the hop here.  Winners will be chosen at random and will be announced on Monday April 6. 

The theme for this campaign is 'blue' so I used as much blue as possible, plus my new stamps from Fred B Mullet

After smooshing my tag through some blue brusho inks I stamped some Stampotique numerals, lightening the intensity of the ink by stamping it onto my underpaper before stamping my tag.

I applied a couple of blue distress inks to the fern stamp and spritzed it with water before stamping it on my tag.

It didn't come out as clearly as I thought (but oooo, love the effect at the bottom of the tag!) so I added some stenciling...

..and some sprinkles of water, which I dabbed off - love that effect!

Spraying White Dylusions ink through my circles stencil added this gorgeous splash of pink 'cos I rarely clean my stencils.  It adds a great contrast!  You can tell I got carried away here and forgot to take my step by step photos - I also stamped a fern by Fred B Mullet.

It still needed a little something so I used my fern die with a security envelope and love the contrast of the black and white paper against the blues.

I'm going to give this tag, along with a little collection of blues, as blog candy to someone who leaves a comment on this blog; I'll use random.org to pick a winner.  Other blogs in the hop also have their own individual blog candy.

It's a shame I can't include the matches, they have cute blue heads!!

So head on over to http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-light-it-up-blue-for-autism.html  and have fun blog hopping!  And don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win, the draws will take place on Monday April 6th :)  Happy Hopping!

2014: My Year with Stampotique

OK, where did that year go?  I can't believe I've been on the Stampotique Designer's Blog team for a whole year!!  I have absolutely loved it; such a wonderful, friendly group of people.

As it's Boxing Day here in the UK an appropriate final project for 2014 would have been an altered matchbox, but that only occurred to me as I wrote this post!

I decided to pick out some of my favourite projects from the year and was hoping to put them in a slideshow but couldn't work out how!  So you have a shorter collection of photos from over the last year.

I've never done one of those end of year looking back posts but looking back at these projects is making me consider doing one!

I've made tags, envelopes and journal pages and happily cut, stuck, stitched, sprayed, collaged, stamped, painted and doodled and had a wonderful time :)

I've also made some lovely friends and want to thank Carol, Jim and Kim for having me on team this year.

Thanks for sticking with me on this photo heavy post!  And thanks for supporting me through my Stampotique adventure :)

 Wishing you all the very best for 2015, Sarah xx

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree...

... how lovely are your branches!

I love twiggy trees like this and would be quite happy with this as a Christmas tree, I'd just add white lights and some silver baubles.

Stampotique stamps used:

Oh...Tree  #6152  by Daniel Torrente

Text star with tiny star on side  #3027  by Jo Capper-Sandon

romantic text  #10028  by France Papillon

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

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