Art Journaling: Up, Up & Away

My next Art Journaling Session is on Monday evening, 6th November at The Studio. If you’re recovered your hearing after the fireworks, do come along and join in! We’ll be working on the theme of ‘up, up and away’ for our mixed media layouts in our journals. Here’s the inspiration example:

Mixed media art journal layout based on the theme of 'up, up and away' featuring a bright ink background and hot air balloon.
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AAA Cards DT: Colour scheme – purples and blues

I’m occasionally accused of being monotone and predictable in the choice of colours I wear, typically blues and greys. The colour challenge at AAA Cards this week features tones of purples and blues, so I feel quite at home. I’ll also be picking the entries that we will be showcasing, so I look forward to seeing your makes based on the photo prompt below. Here’s my take on the clean and simple card challenge…

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LIM DT: Blue, pink and white colour challenge

We have a colour challenge over at Less is More this week… Your clean and simple card should feature blue, pink and white to enter our gallery. Now, my cards don’t necessarily fit the guidance for ‘simple’ or ‘easily reproducible’ but I find them rather pleasing and am running with them! Here’s my first card for the design team inspiration page and below is another I made:

Blue embossed mandala with pink and white shading to colour mounted onto white card blank using foam pads.
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LIM DT: One layer card – ‘hello sunshine’

It’s a one-layer challenge over at Less is More clean and simple card-making challenge blog. Don’t forget that one layer means just that… everything has to be on the card blank. No die cuts, no matting and very minimal, if any, embellishments. The theme is ‘hello sunshine’. I have tried to emulate a sunrise with my design team card:

hello sunshine card with blended stencilled sunrise
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AAA Cards DT: ink blending 3 or more colours

There are a lot of choices when it comes to crafting ink – pigment, water-based, hybrids, dye, oil-based. The challenge over at AAA Cards for the next fortnight is to make a clean and simple card featuring ink blending. My go-to when ink blending is mentioned is distress inks. They are pretty much specifically engineered to blend with the secondary benefit of being water-reactive. Here’s my take on the theme:

ink blending on birthday card

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LIM DT: Music

Theme week at Less is More, and we’ve been set ‘music’. Despite the fact I play the clarinet, massacre a tenor sax piece and know where the notes are on a piano, I’d not say I was a musician! (Just ask how well I can play a syncopated rhythm…) I’m also not an avid listener of music – it is on in the background for most of my working day but I don’t choose to listen to it in my down time. So this theme was a bit of a challenge until I realised just how many ‘classic’ music-themed stamps and embellishments I had in my stash. This is my design team card for your inspiration, but don’t forget to check out the rest of the cards the team have created.

music themed card with rubber stamped background, rusty quaver embellishment and a quote sentiment

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Art Journal: Maps

It has been a little while since I have shared one of my art journal spreads, so I thought I would do so today as a plug for next week’s art journaling session here at The Studio. I’m also sharing the stages the layout went through to get from where I started to the finished article. ‘Maps’ is the theme this month and you’re very welcome to join us on Monday at 7:30pm for the session where you will create your own take on the theme. All materials are provided, and you can get a suitable journal from me for just £2 if you don’t have one already. Just let me know if you’d like to attend. Here’s my finished layout:

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LIM DT: Alphabet – C is for celebrate

Less is More clean and simple card challenge blog has a new theme for the next fortnight… We’re working through the alphabet and this week it’s the turn of C – make card for something to celebrate. I had various ideas and ended up going with this one:

Celebrate wedding day clean and simple card

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AAA Cards DT: Add a tag or ticket

A new theme starts at AAA Cards clean and simple card challenge blog today and runs for the next two weeks. This time we are asking for cards that feature a tag or a ticket. There are some great inspiration cards from the design team, and here’s my take on the theme:

card with a stamped tag

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AAA Cards DT: Sketch for a teen card

Another sketch challenge has been set at AAA Cards this week. Use the design to guide your creation of a clean and simple card suitable for a teen. I struggled to find something to fit the theme and eventually raided a different stash for inspiration. With the popularity of proms, I thought this ‘couture’ stamp would be suitable. The guide sketch is below.

Card suitable for a teen - based on sketch Continue reading