Snarky Cat and Alice with their Flying Friends

Snarky Cat is hiding under the brolly, held spellbound by all the birds flying about... he knows its lucky if they drop anything squishy on his head, but ew!

The quote I've written using Tim Holtz Idea-ology stickers (Halloween and Small Talk) say ... watching and waiting, held spellbound. When nothing is sure, everything is possible (so) stay curious.
Looking back as I write this blog post, I am wondering who's doing the watching and waiting, Snarky Cat, Alice or the vultures, I mean sparrows. lol :)

How this art journal page was created...

Above ... a few of my favourite things used for this journal art page : from left, Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits 'Silhouette Birds', Dina Wakley MEdia Collage Tissue 'Flying Things' and Dyan Reaveley Dylusions Dyalog Insert Book 'Backgrounds 3'.

First, gather the outer scraps from diecutting lots of Tim Holtz Sizzix Silhouette Birds out of Tim Holtz Heavystock Kraft. 

Next, roughly cut around the flocks of birds from Dina Wakley MEdia Collage Tissue, and choose a background inside the Dylusions Dyalog Insert Book. 

Using a paintbrush, apply Dina Wakley MEdia Gel Medium to the back a piece of tissue, layer it into place on the Dyalog page then smooth it down with the same brush. Repeat for the rest of the flock. The white paper may disappear as it dries, however this result (for me) varies like the weather. Wash your brush before the gel dries!

It is best to use a craft mat or glass media mat so this next step of a painted layer doesn't stick to your table as it dries. I have used white scrap paper underneath to make it easier for you to see what I've done.

Use a paintbrush with Dylusions Acrylic Paint in Black Marble to paint, cover the whole die cut piece. Lift carefully while wet and place it loosely down again (on your mat or a drying tray), so it is easier to pick up once dry. Leave to dry.

If you used a black sheet of cardstock instead of kraft, you can skip this step and go straight into sponging shadows.

Apply lighter colours using a coarse sponge. I've used Distress Paint in Lost Shadow (shown above) and Dylusions Acrylic Paint in Balmy Night.

Dabbing lightly to keep a speckled effect, work the colours to be darkest at the top and lightest near the bottom of the piece. Leave to dry. Wash your brush and sponge before the paint dries!

After the paint has completely dried, brush on Collage Medium or Gel Medium to the back (as above). Lay this piece over the background of flying birds. Work fairly quickly so the glue does not dry before you have it in place.

Alternatively, use the Tim Holtz Collage Medium in the bottle or a glue stick. Some like to use staples or adhesive tape to secure layers too.
If you have trouble with lining up layers, keeping layers in place or glue dries faster than you can work, simply use pegs or hinge clips to hold the two layers together first. Then keeping one side attached so it doesn't move, lift the loose side and apply glue however you wish, using what works for you. Press the layer down, put the clip back on to hold that still and repeat for the other side. Remember, it is art, therefore doesn't matter if it is crooked or upside down!

Rummaging through my stash of stamped leftovers and paper embellishments, I picked out Snarky Cat stamped onto Distress Heavystock White Paper from the Tim Holtz Snarky Cat Halloween set, the umbrella from Idea-Ology Engravings Layers, Silhouette Birds cut out of kraft Heavystock, and a fussy cut Alice in Wonderland figure from the 8x8 Stamperia Paper Pad. I used a black fine pen and white gel pen to draw on birds' eyes.

Have a wonder through your alphabet Thinlits die cutting sets, alphabet stamps, quote stamps or Idea-ology stickers to say something, tell a story, share your thoughts, add song lyrics or write a poem.

Hope this creative journaling page inspires you to have a go, play with colours, use up those scraps you've been saving for that opportune moment and have a fabulous messy time!

Happy Creative Day!

:)

Jenny

How to Create a Fun Christmas Collage

Merry Christmas!

Its that fab time of year when we add elves and holly to almost anything. This mixed media artwork was created using the adorable Dyan Reaveley stamps, Dylusions Ink Sprays, Tim's gorgeous Collage Paper and a few other supplies. I hope it inspires you to have a go and enjoy the fun process of smooshing paint and colouring stamps!

The colours were inspired by this beautiful bucketful of Geraldton Wax my Dad placed at my door after he pruned our tree.

List of treasures used ...

- Strathmore Paper Pad - Mixed Media - Series 400 - 9x12
- Dylusions Mixed Media Cardstock
- Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Collage Paper "Forest"
- Dylusions Acrylic Paint (link is to all colours)
- Dylusions Ink Sprays (link is to all colours)
- Finnabair Metallique Antique Coin (tap here for all Art Alchemy Metallique paints)
- Dylusions Stamps "Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe" and "Elf Improvement Class"
- Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Cling Foam Stamps - Christmas Ornaments
- Stencils by Dylusions, Tim Holtz and Studio Light (click here for all stencils)
- Jane Davenport Cave Black Squid Ink (or use Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink)
- Dylusions Paint Pens (black and white)
- Kuretake Hikkei Black Double Ended Brush Pen
- Finnabair Extravagance Paper Texture Paste
- Ranger Multi Medium Matte
- Dylusions by Dyan Reaveley Mini Collage Glue Stick
- Tim Holtz Non-Stick Mini Snips
- Tim Holtz Plastic Spatula (click here for all spatulas)
- Tim Holtz Distress Splatter Paint Brush
- Paint Brushes (link is to all paint brushes)
- Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer Bottle
- Ranger Ink Blending Tools (click here for all blending tools)
- Acrylic Stamping Blocks

Shop online at www.shop.artbyjenny.com.au

Instructions ...

The first thing I did was blend Dylusions Bubblegum Pink Acrylic Paint over the whole of my page using my trusty Ranger Ink Blending Tool. Using the same blending tool, I picked up a speck the Dylusions White Linen Acrylic Paint (I'd put a portion of each colour the size of a 20 cent piece on my craft mat). The white was used to blend over the top right and bottom left of the page, making it a fraction lighter.

The next step was adding some interest into the background... using the small Dylusions Squares Stencil and with the white still on the blending tool, I added patches of squares (see below).

Dylusions Paint dries quite fast on a warm day so remembering to put lids back on straight away is important. When finished for the day, I always open up the jars I've used and add a mist or two of water and give it a light shake. This helps stop the paint from thickening as the jar empties (from use!).

Its pretty rare that I'll only use 1 or 2 stencils on a background... I usually choose designs to match my thoughts or the theme of what I'm creating. At this point I wasn't quite sure where I was headed, so adding the Dylusions Arrows was a perfect replica of my thoughts - all over the place! lol :)
They've been layered onto the page using Bubblegum Pink.

Above is a quick overview of the page so far. Here I've added Dylusions Pomegrannate Acrylic Paint through a Studio Light Flower Stencil.

The flower stencil was flipped to add the third flower then Dylusions Honeycomb, Keyholes and Hearts were layered onto the page with Bubblegum Pink and White Linen paint.

Shapes of baubles from the Tim Holtz Idea-Ology "Christmas" Foam Stamps were then printed across the top of the page using Dylusions White Linen Paint.
The above photo shows how : by placing the foam stamp on an acrylic block, applying paint with a foam ink blending tool and pressing to print.

Once all the paint was dry, I stamped on the Santa sleigh from the Dylusions set, "Elf Impovement Class" using a black inkpad. I then coloured over it using a black paint pen to make it stand out even more from the page.

I've pasted two pieces of Tim Holtz Collage Tissue Paper onto the page using a matte medium gel (adhesives like Mod Podge or Ranger's Glue 'n Seal will also work) and a wide flat paintbrush. The piece on the right hand side has been torn and pieced back to work around the sleigh.

How to add a layer of tissue... brush the matte medium gel or glue onto a small section of the page. Place the tissue paper onto this section and smooth it down using the same brush. Lift the unglued section carefully and apply medium underneath, smoothing it down with the brush as you go.

This technique makes it easier to line up the tissue paper without it getting stuck where its not wanted. The smaller section then holds the paper in place while you glue the rest of it down. If you put glue over the whole page first, it might be dry before you've placed your tissue. The size of your section depends on your page size and the weather... I generally work in strips of 2-3 inches wide until the whole sheet is stuck. I also cover the whole page with more matte medium to ensure it is completely stuck! On a loose page like this one, I fold and glue the excess to the back.

White splatters of paint always seem to liven up a page. Sometimes I use the Dylusions White Linen Ink Spray or Tim's Distress Spray Stain in Picket Fence.
I still had some White Linen paint on my craft sheet so added a few sprays of water and mixed it in with the splatter brush (as shown above). I then flick paint all over the place and let it dry.

Adding areas of texture paste onto a background creates a tactile element to the page. The Ranger Translucent Gel Texture Paste is easily seen when wet and clear after its dry.

Using a spatula or palette knife (some use an old credit card), scrape the gel across and through a stencil (I've used the Tim Holtz "Poinsettia" and "Festive" Layering Stencils). Lift the stencil carefully to reveal the beautiful design.

The above photo is a closeup of the texture paste before it dried. Once dry, it is clear but remains raised.

Above is an overview of the whole page so far... waiting for all that texture paste to dry! While waiting, I coloured in my stamps.

Using the Jane Davenport Squid Ink in black, I stamped out oodles of holly leaves, mistletoe and elves. Jane's hybrid ink is both water and solvent resistant... which means you can use it with both watercolours and alcohol markers - and the stamped image didn't go blurry with either of them!

All the images were coloured with Dylusions Ink Spray... the leaves were painted using a small round brush using Fresh Lime with London Blue painted into the shadows and stems. Some had more blue than others and I left all the berries white (ie, unpainted).

The leaves were all handcut using small scissors then edged in Bubblegum Pink Ink Spray (to complment the background). A few sprigs of holly had white space left in tact which was also painted with the pink Ink Spray.

The elves' heads were painted with Dylusions Ink Sprays as well. To get their elfish skin tone, I started with a very small puddle of Bubblegum Pink on my plate (see further above) and added water (2-3 times the amount of ink) to make it alot paler. This was painted onto their faces.
I then mixed in a teeny tiny drop of green to the pink (turning it slightly brown) and used that for shadows around the neck, cheeks and ears.

The hats were painted using Cherry Pie (red) and silly me tried to paint out the spots using white paint before they dried (which is why they're so muddy!). The shadows were added using the greeny brown mix left over from the faces. The bells were different colours to see which I liked best but were only a base for underneath the gold paint.

After the muddle of the elf hats, I painted the shoes more carefully, leaving the white spots without colour... takes longer to do but a much better way to go.
Fresh Lime and Cut Grass were used for the leggings and inside of the boots.

I was hanging out to use the beautiful "Falling Stars" stencil by Tim and the very cool Finnabair Paper Texture Paste (made by Prima Marketing). I applied this thick paste through the stencil and let it dry (which didn't take long, always a bonus!). It remained white when dry with a hard, raised, 3-dimensional texture with a rough finish.

After being introduced to Ranger's Dylusions Glue Stick by Dyan, I've not used anything else (apart from Glossy Accents and various mediums). For such a little gluestick, it packs alot of punch! It dries fast, clear, permanent on porous surfaces and is non-yellowing. Being little is so handy too, as it makes it alot easier to apply glue to tiny leaves and skinny stems.

Almost finished... I cleaned up the elves' hats and fixed up Santa's sleigh using the Dylusions Paint Pens and Kuretake pen. The cat on Santa's sleight got given whiskers and a longer tail.

Closeup photo showing how the legs were pieced together for the two elves carrying the Christmas trees. The pair of legs on the left were cut apart and put back together to appear as if they're walking or taking a step. Each shoe has a spot of gold acrylic paint for the bell.

Not all characters need a body! Simply make them look like they're carrying something (like a tree) or hiding behind something else. Create the illusion of a body by showing just the head and feet, the eyes will do the rest :)

The elf on the right hand side of the page has tripped over a tiny leaf of holly and dropped his tree. Adding another leaf over the top of the thigh hides the lack of body as well :)

All finished :) Click to view larger!

I hope this helps and inspires you to get creative with your layering. Don't forget to allow some layers to dry before adding more. I'm here if you need a hand :) Have fun!

Happy Creative Day!
:)
Jenny

How to Create a Storybook Garden

Stamping and colouring to create a whimsical storybook garden is a relaxing, simple process but does require a little planning to work out placement, plus flexibility for when it doesn't quite go to plan. Collage elements are perfect for covering up these glitches!

The first step is to gather your favourite stamps together. For this scene I used a variety of Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions rubber stamps that feature leaves, roses, toadstools and bees with the ladybeetle from "Entomology" stamp set by Tim Holtz.

Next (presuming you've placed the stamp on the acrylic block), apply the Archival Black Soot Ink Pad to the group of leaves stamp in the Dylusions "Oodles of Foliage" set and press to print along the base of the page. Repeat 2-3 times (less or more, depending on your page size and how far you overlap the image).

Also stamp this same image twice on a piece of plain scrap paper. Cut out both with fine scissors. No need to cut out every detail, these are your masks for when printing the background elements.

I've used Dylusions "Crown of Roses" girl with the rosy hat and deer... place the masks over the matching leaves on the page where you want the flowers to go. They will stay in place as long as the fan is not on! Apply ink to your stamp and print the roses onto the page. Lift off the masks. It should leave the impression that the roses are behind the leaves.

Move the masks around as you print other designs onto your page that you wish to be in the background. 

Draw on wings, any flower stems, thorns and trace lines you may have missed using a black fine tipped marker. Now colour in your picture! When I am working on a brown kraft carstock, I start colouring with white, enhancing wings and eyes, then I move onto yellows and greens, then all the other colours. Add colour your way, using colours that make you smile.

Stamp out extra images, add colour and cut out with fine sharp scissors. Glue onto your page using matte gel medium or Dylsuions glue stick. Use an Action Wobble ready-made self-adhesive spring to attach a head to your page for a fun bobble head. It presses flat when the book is closed, not much thicker than a bookmark.

This photo is a closeup showing the finished art journal page, colourful and full of life! I hope this artwork makes you smile and inspires you to have a go. Stamp, colour, cut out, create and repeat... and enjoy every arty crafty moment!

Have a creative Happy day!

:)

Jenny

Arty treasures used ...

- Dina Wakley MEdia (6"x6") Art Kraft Journal

... or Dylusions Creative Art Journals (small, large, black, white or kraft).

- sheet of Strathmore Mixed Media Paper (white, black, tan, grey or blue)

... or Tim Holtz Distress Heavystock Mixed Media Paper

... or Dylusions Mixed Media Paper (maybe from a cut up page in your journal).

- Tim Holtz Distress Archival Black Soot Ink Pad

... or Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad.

- Dylusions Journaling Block

... or any clear acrylic stamping blocks in sizes to suit your stamps.

- scrap plain paper

- Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions Creative Dy Cuts (ready to use die cut images).

- Posca Colouring Pencils

- Black marker for doodling and drawing details.

- Tim Holtz (Tonic Studio) 5" Mini Snips (fine sharp micro serrated scissors)

... if you like large handles, try the Tim Holtz 7" Scissors.

- Tim Holtz Distress Collage Matte Medium (bottle as it has a fine tip for easy application).

- Dyan Reaveley's Dylsuions Glue Stick.

Dylusions stamps sets used : A Head Start, Toadstool Town, Crown of Roses, Cat Among the Pigeons, Star Struck, Oodles of Foliage, Doodle Parts, Everythings Rosy, Stripy Curlicues.

Archival Ink by Ranger is a waterproof, fade resistant permanent ink on porous surfaces, giving you flexibility to colour with dry mediums like pencils or wet mediums like Dylusions Ink Sprays (as a spray, with a brush or in waterbrushes), watercolour paints and Distress inks. 

Colouring over Archival Ink with solvent markers may make the ink blur, therefore if you wish to colour in with Copics or Chameleon Pens, stamp your illustration with a watersoluble ink like a Distress Ink Pad.

All arty treasures used in this blog post are available at the 'Art by Jenny Online Shop' at www.shop.artbyjenny.com.au.

An Urban Tapestry

This art journal page was created inside a friend's book as part of a swap for the Australian Art Journal Swap group using the theme, Nature. 

I've created my art journal page using a sheet of beautiful rice paper from Stamperia featuring two hands inspired by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. Together with Tim Holtz rubber stamps and Idea-Ology Collage Paper, I've grown a wild urban tapestry filled with tiny creatures.

- all arty treasures used are available at the 'Art by Jenny' online shop -

www.shop.artbyjenny.com.au

How to create layers with tissue...

Working inside the small Dylusions Mixed Media Journal, I trimmed the Stamperia Rice Paper Sheet to size and glued it down with a gel matte medium using my trusty flat wide paintbrush.

Once the gel medium was dry, I mixed a small puddle of watered down white gesso to use as a wash over the background areas of the rice paper to calm down the contrast of the printed words.

For this page, I thought I'd have a play with Tim Holtz's White Collage Tissue Paper using Ranger's black Archival Ink and a few favourite stamps. The idea was that the paper would disappear into the background and leave the printed image behind.

The birds, quote and grunge spatters are all from the Tim Holtz Stamp Set "Urban Tapestry". I love the typographic style of this quote. It says :

"The creative is the place where noone else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and venture into the wilderness of your intuition. You can't get there any other way, only by taking risks and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself."

After stamping onto the tissue, heat setting the ink and trimming to size, I then coloured some areas on the back with white pencil. The white would help the reversed and outlined words show clearer on the background.
Gesso would do the same thing but pencil doesn't crinkle up the paper or need drying time.

I used matte gel medium to glue down everything, both under the tissue and over it to seal all the edges.

The birds were also stamped onto tissue paper and heat set before being trimmed and glued down with the gel matte medium.

All the branches were stamped straight onto the page with black Archival ink after the birds were dry.

Above is a closeup of how the tissue paper blends into the background. Sometimes. If you're not looking for it, you can't see it...! lol :) Still a fab technique for collage when you don't feel like cutting around every single feather, beak and foot.

Colour was applied to the birds using watercolour pencil (red and brown) and a waterbrush.
Being a translucent tissue, I was able to flip one of the birds to face the other way (perched on the hand facing left) without losing too much detail. Then coloured over him with black pencil to give his feathers more definition and darken the image.

The birds needed something to hang around with, so I stamped more branches in the black Archival Ink, then some spatters of grunginess in black and stonewalling in brown (Tim's background stamp "Slate and Stone").
The brown Archival Ink was only applied to small sections of the stone background stamp and pressed onto the page without an acrylic block, to give it a more rustic appearance.

Black Archival Ink was used for all the beetles and ants from Tim's stamp set "Entomology". They're crawling all over the place!
I coloured the beetles and some of the ants with brown watercolour pencil then once dry, I drew on the white highlights and gave them a covering of Ranger's crackle medium.

The bees were stamped onto tissue paper using the black Archival ink, dried with the heat tool and then had their bodies coloured with yellow pencil on the back of the paper.
After being glued onto the page with gel matte medium, I painted their wings with an iridescent medium to make them shimmer.
Their black stripes were enhanced using black pen and highlights drawn on with white gel pen.

Above is a closeup of an ant after the crackle medium had dried. The quote was made into a wallhanging with nails drawn on with black pen and brown pencil.

Lastly, I blended in a tiny smattering of blue ink around some of the edges of both pages.

Thanks for reading my blog post. Hope it helps you smile and inspires you to make time for arts, crafts and creativity! Enjoy every moment :)

Happy Creative Day!
:D
Jenny