a teeny weeny gelli plate

For this month's project for Lavinia Stamps  I used the teeny weeny gelli plate that I treated myself to recently!  It measures 3" x 5" inches and is perfect for creating quick and easy cards.  Step by step instructions are over on the Lavinia Stamps website here.

It's also great for small projects like tags.  I enjoyed playing so much I carried on from cards onto a tag; and I have a new favourite stamp - the new flower border!  I just love it :)

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 :)

more inkiness in my moleskine planner

 I finally got my photos sorted :) I can't remember where I saw the idea of using deli paper/greaseproof paper to cover the diary part of my journal but it is a fab tip!

DLP challenge: Under Paper

The above page is one of my favourites.. I just love how it turned out; it got a lot of inspiration from Robin-Marie's work

DLP challenge:  When not to Stop

The following week is when the diary part of my planner fell by the wayside...I was so exhausted post OFSTED!

It's not one of my favourite pages I have to day.  It was a real challenge, to just keep layering and layering...and challenge is good!

I often use a double sized piece of card/watercolour paper for these challenges, then fold them in half and use the DLP challenge on one side and Documented Faith on the other (although I've not been able to manage many of those)..

...but it's there ready and waiting!

DLP challenge: Layers you will love - cover up good stuff

Back to loving my pages again but this time ignoring the challenge prompt!  I completed this one whilst away in Saltburn and used some seaweed from the beach as a mask..

This was another double spread before folding it in half and adding it as a tip in.  I have to say, I highly recommend DLP, and the girls who run it are so generous in their time and energy - it is free!

That's all for today though folks, week 8's pages coming up in another post.  They were inspired by the Cardboard Crush workshop by the DLP team, Art to the 5th Academy; I can recommend it!

Documented Life Project update

I have successfully kept a daily diary since 29th December 2014, only missing 6 days.    For me, that is an incredible feat!  I have wanted to keep a diary for sooooo long!  I am really, really thrilled :)

The transforming factor has been the wonderful Original Documented Life Project.  I love the weekly prompts, my moleskine planner and my favourite writing pen ( a simple fine Bic).  I haven't been great at blogging the pages though!  This is week 3 - the colour wheel and I challenged myself to use more colours than usual.  I also managed to follow the journal prompt this week (the quote in the middle of the flower)

More page updates when I can get the pics downloaded!

new Lavinia Stamps release

 I've been playing with the new release images from Lavinia Stamps.

I love, love, love the new background script, especially in combination with the new flower border.

I made some tags for some of my Easter gifts using both of these images.  I spritzed each tag with water then pressed my mini distress mustard seed inkpad over the wet area.  Once this was dry I added snippets of background script in ripe persimmon and used this same colour to add sections of the flower border.

A touch of washi tape and a blue heart cut from previously inked paper finished my tags.

I had a couple of letters to send out so I used the same stamps with a black Versafine inkpad - can you tell I love this combo?!!!

Light it up for Autism blog hop winner

Helen, you won my Light it Up for Autism tag and extra goodies!!  Email me your postal address and I'll get your goodies out to you.  I used random dot org to generate the winner.

Thanks to everyone who commented and supported this wonderful event, and thanks to Veronica and Tenia for organising it.  They'll be announcing more winners from their sponsors over at http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.co.uk/.

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!