Tea, Coffee, Art Journalling?
Posted: February 28, 2023 Filed under: 6"x 6" journal, Art Journal, Background Stamps, coffee time, Cup of tea, Darkroom Door, Dies, Gazette, Penny Black, Script, Time, What's in your cup, World Map | Tags: Art Journal, Darkroom Door stamps, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 2 Comments
Today I am posting a few pages from last year’s Art Journal Adventure workshops. I taught seven different ‘episodes’ last year and one month the theme was coffee and tea. I did a few pages before the sessions and then created a different page during each class. I don’t like replicating the same spread in my art journal so each one had a different colour scheme and style.
Even though I am more of a herbal tea drinker than a coffee drinker I ended up creating three coffee themed pages and two tea themed. You can see the first coffee themed page here. As you can see from the three spreads featured here I use a variety of techniques, papers and elements in my pages. The common technique on these pages is a watercolour background and the common element is the chipboard cups. Both the coffee themed pages feature photos from an old coffee themed diary. In both cases I took my colour scheme from the photo and added browns.
This tea themed page could also be called ‘these are a few of my favourite teas!’ I used packaging from boxes and sachets, embossed the teacups to match and add snippets from old books and magazines.
These pages show how I gather elements and papers from here, there and everywhere when creating a page. I used inks, embossing powders and glazes, stamps and stencils for these pages but I also used an old diary, packaging, pages from a vintage recipe book, and old teabags!
I almost didn’t finish this last spread but once I had stamped then glazed the cute chipboard cups I knew I had to finish. Now I want a mug with vintage newsprint on it!
Art Journal Adventure for 2023 kicks off this week. There is still space in the Friday class and the Monday class. We will be creating with semi- transparent papers.
(Compensated affiliate links from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp)
Collage behind Hibiscus and Bluebird
Posted: September 8, 2022 Filed under: Art Journal, Darkroom Door, Gazette, Penny Black, vintage postcard | Tags: Art Journal, collage, Darkroom Door stamps, Penny Black stamps 4 Comments
One of my favourite techniques when art journaling is to create a collage background from gel prints, patterned papers, stamping, stencilled texture and paint. Sometimes I know what focal elements I will add over the top, other times I wait to be inspired by the completed collage.
When creating this collage spread in the 6″x 6″ art journal I used gel prints and patterned papers in neutral tones: pale green, beige and browns. I did some stamping with Darkroom Door and Penny Black stamps on kraft paper and over the top of the collage. The focal point is an image from the front of a greeting card. As is sometimes the case, the back of the card featured a smaller version of the same art. I used both on my pages along with some handmade printed paper from a friend. I was very happy with the way the colours worked together and was happy to save and use a card sent by a dear friend. ( I cut the artist’s name from the card and added it to my page.)
Supplies
(Compensated affiliate links used when purchasing from Foiled Fox, Scrap n Stamp and Ecstasy Crafts)
Crossword
Posted: April 20, 2021 Filed under: alphabet medley, crossword, Darkroom Door, Gazette, gel press, Nature Walk, torn text, you are everything | Tags: Darkroom Door stamps, gel printing, Ranger Distress inks, Tsukineko Versafine inks 4 Comments
Darkroom Door added four new background stamps to their line up recently and I’ve shown you ‘handwoven‘ and ‘daisy delight‘ in previous posts. Today I have three very different cards featuring the ‘crossword’ background stamp.
On this first floral card I have used the crossword stamp as a background. I stamped it on scrap first with versafine clair morning mist ink then on a panel of watercolour paper to get a pale grey image adding interest behind the silhouette flowers stamped in different distress inks. I used the same grey ink to stamp words from the ‘you are everything’ set to pop up along the bottom of the panel.
In this second card the stamp functions as both a background and a crossword (of sorts). Although the stamped image is a solvable crossword which comes with printed clues in the packet I have populated it with coffee themed words to work on my coffee themed card. I feel like coffee and the crossword is not an uncommon past time. I stamped the background with fallen leaves versafine clair ink and stamped the sentiment and coffee cup in the same ink on a gel printed panel. I added some blending and ink splatter in both brown and gold before popping up the coffee and sentiment over some gold cord.
Although it took some time to stamp the background and foreground images the hardest part of the coffee card was definitely finding and arranging coffee themed words in the crossword!
My last card reminds me of the riddle, “what is black and white and red all over?” A newspaper!
Get it?
“Read all over!”
On both the second and third cards I used bristol cardstock for sharper stamped images as I wasn’t adding any water or waterbased inks. I stamped a strip of three different DD background stamps, blended the edges and attached them to a red panel then used the ‘alphabet medley’ set to stamp the words in versafine satin red ink. I’m thinking I can use this card for any exciting occasion and stamp another sentiment inside which is more specific.
Supplies
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Vintage collage card
Posted: March 8, 2021 Filed under: Coliro paints, Darkroom Door, diamonds, Dies, Finetec paints, French Script, Gazette, gerberas, gift card pocket, global postmarks, Penny Black, shall we dance, Stencils | Tags: Coliro paints, Darkroom Door stamps, Darkroom Door stencils, Fabriano Watercolour Paper, Finetec artist mica watercolour paint, Penny Black creative dies, Penny Black stamps, Ranger Distress inks 4 Comments
A friend commissioned me to make a ‘vintage’ themed card recently and I happily pulled out a bunch of Darkroom Door stamps to do so. You can see the pocket watch stamp managed to feature three times but the French script, global postmarks, and gerberas also contributed. I stamped, blended and painted with two brown tones of distress ink, two blues and a black. (all the supplies are listed below)
To begin I smooshed some speckled egg and antique linen distress inks on a glass mat, added water swiped the panel through the diluted ink. After that the gerbera background stamp became part of the base layer in speckled egg distress ink. I layered the other stamps over the top in tea dye and antique linen inks and blended some speckled egg ink through the DD diamonds stencil. Of course there is splatter, watermarks and extra blending to darken the edges. To add a dimensional feature I die cut several stems of flowers with the Penny Black ‘shall we dance’ die, some are from watercolour paper, some from tan cardstock and a few from paper painted with salty ocean ink and stamped with the DD gazette stamp.
Almost finished, I added a strand of twine around the base and tied some tiny tags on with stamped PB sentiments on them and some little wooden stars I found. I was pretty happy with all this vintageness but decided to risk some gold paint. I splattered and added it to the tiny stars and heart, the flower centres. Where it worked best though was unevenly painted along the edges of the square panel. You probably can’t even see it clearly but it ended up being one of my favourite parts of the card.
By the way there are yummy new stamps on the Darkroom Door website. You will see them here soon, a few are winging their way here as you read this! Have a great day.
Supplies
(Compensated affiliate links used when possible)
A Dressember card
Posted: December 4, 2017 Filed under: 1920s Chic, Gazette | Tags: Darkroom Door stamps, Tsukineko Memento inks, Tsukineko Stazon inks 1 Comment
Today’s post is a little different to my usual; it’s more about a cause than a card. I have committed to wearing dresses everyday this month as part of the worldwide Dressember campaign to raise funds to end modern day slavery. This is the second time I have taken this challenge. In 2014 I wore a dress everyday in December and raised $1240. This year I have teamed up with my daughter Alexandra and my friend Nan and our target is $2500.
I would love it if you would support me in raising funds for this cause. If you want to find out more about the cause please click on the links provided earlier in this post. If you would like to donate then click over to my fundraising page.
If you would like to check up and see if I am really wearing a dress everyday in December I am documenting them on my instagram and pinterest feeds. (I’d love to send anyone who donates to Dressember a handmade card so use my contact button to let get in touch if you do)
If you would like to know more about these stunning fashion related stamps you can find them at Darkroom Door.
Heather Telford 