Monday, May 1, 2017

Nature Art Journal Page

Hello friends! I hope your weekend was a good one. In Sweden, we celebrated the coming of spring yesterday, in a celebration called Walpurgis Night. We went to a traditional bonfire nearby. Anton managed to win a great prize at a raffle. He has a history of winning good raffle prizes.



It is a new month, and one of my favourite months of the year, May. I love to see how everything comes to life. It is almost as if you can see changes in nature every single morning. Since it is the first Monday of a new month, the design team at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog, showcase a particular designer/company and this week it is Paper Artsy, which carries a great range of products. Our theme is The Great Outdoors. A real favorite of mine! 

During May, our guest designer is Dr Sonia, aka Cards, Crafts, Kids Projects, and you simply have to see the fantastic project she made this week.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

As you probably know, I love to be outdoors and the long walks I take with Leo on weekend days, are one of the high-points of my week. I like this quote by John Muir: 'I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.' This Saturday, for example, we first stopped in a forest groove where the floor is covered by White Anemone flowers, then we walked past some horses we often say hi to on our walks, through another forest and into a field, and then I decided to try a new path and we ended up in a forest where Blue Anemones grow (they are rare and protected and I hadn't seen one for years). As soon as Anton gets more used to his new bike, I will take him on bike rides. 

For this week, I made an art journal page in my Dina Wakley Media Journal. This journal as an organic feel to it, making it perfect for nature themed pages. I worked on one of the watercolor sheets, and used Paper Artsy Infusions Colored Stains for the background, and ELB22 by Lin Brown stamp set for the flowers.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

The background was done by first misting it with water and then sprinkling Infusions into the water. I misted them with even more water until they blended and I got the look I wanted. I also removed some of the color with a paper towel to get a softer look. I used Slime, Olive Tree, Emerald Isle and a little Golden Sands. Infusions are water-soluble particles with two components: dye color pigment mixed with walnut stain.The title was die cut with Tim Holtz's Deco Alpha die, from burlap. The opposite page in the journal is a burlap one, so I wanted them to coordinate a bit.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

'Breathe' comes from the Simon Says Stamp One With Nature set and was stamped three times on My Favorite Things Off the Grid paper.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

I white embossed the flowers from the ELB22 set on watercolor paper. Infusions work great for watercoloring, and gives fun and sometimes unexpected results. Put a tiny amount of powder on a craft sheet or in a palette and mist with water. Since the Infusions is a mix of different pigment powders, the shade you get depends on which crystals that happened to dissolve on your paint brush. It adds to the organic look of this page.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

I used the same stains to color the flowers as I did on the background, with the addition of A Bit Jaded.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

The flowers were cut out and arranged on the background.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

Another faovurite sentiment of mine, and I have used it before. It comes from the SSS One With Nature set. I also stamped a little border, with a grass stamp and for the soil I used the blocked stamp from the ELB22 set. I also used a piece of butterfly Design Tape.

Layers of ink - Nature Art Journal Page by Anna-Karin with Paper Artsy Infusions

This sentiment also comes from the ELB22 stamp set, and I only used the first line, since it fitted best on my page.

I really hope you will join us in our The Great Outdoors challenge. As every week, you have a chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.


Don't forget to follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram, they post great stuff daily. 


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Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.





Thank you so much for visiting today!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:




16 comments:

  1. The background of your journal is dreamy, Anna-Karin! I love the colors and the white embossed images are beautiful against it. Love it!

    Cathie ♥

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  2. Absolutely gorgeous art journaling Anna-Karin, the whole design of this is so pretty! I love the burlap letters and soft colors, what a stunner! 😍❤️

    Thank you so much for all of your help while I have been away, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it X X X
    Luv
    Lols x x x

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  3. Lovely background and I love the natural lettering. The teasel is a lovely stamp and your background is gorgeous . Tracy x

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  4. Ohhhh nice one!!! All lovely layers!! Brilliant!

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  5. Anna-Karin your page is fantastic. The background is perfect for showcasing the flowers and burlap. Well done!
    I love spring as well and you are right, everyday you can see changes in the landscape and foliage and it is something wonderful to watch!

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  6. Love your wild and fanciful flower meadow - and that John Muir quote is wonderful. I couldn't agree more about the power of getting out, and especially at this time of year. Wonderful page.
    Alison x

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  7. Totally gorgeous, Anna-Karin! I just love all of the elements!

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp

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  8. This is such a lovely page Anna-Karin! I love your letters too, fabulous idea.
    And happy to read that Anton is a champion at raffle tee-hee! :o)
    Hugs,
    Corinne

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  9. Gorgeous page, Anna-Karin! Love your touch with the Infusions (I need more practice) and those images are downright beautiful! The white highlights look amazing! Fun to read about the adventures with Leo that you shared too! Maura

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  10. Love the fabulous background and those flowers are gorgeous on this page! Anna-Karin. Such a beautiful design! :)

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  11. Beautiful colors of the background, so soft and warm. I love the flowers so much and burlap details. Hugs, Macarena

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  12. You've created such a beautiful scene, Anna-Karin and I can just imagine myself walking through the fields of flowers on a sunny day! It's gorges and I love the whole design... :)

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  13. stunning art journal page Anna-Karin...love those gorgeous flowers and how you used burlap for your wording...hugs kath xxx

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  14. This is simply beautiful! Your details are always exceptional and it's a treat to see all the little touches you include. The burlap letters are genius and I love how they add to its rustic vibe.

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  15. The scene you've created is amazing and so delicate! The nature you represent is wonderfuland so relaxing! Love the colors and stamps you used! Fab piece! Barbara!

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment! Happy Crafting!