Spring-time fun

Hello friends! It is Monday again and we had such lovely weather yesterday. Spring was in the air. I made a cute spring-time page in my art journal. 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

This week we have a A Bit o' Green theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! Don't miss the lovely project by our March guest designer Simona Rebecchi.

The green theme and the weather inspired me to make a page with bright spring-time green shades. I used the very cute Simon Says Stamp Hoppy Spring stamp set from the new Beautiful Moments release and aimed for a cartoonish look, but with some texture.

Start by stamping the sheep and bunny and two hills. I worked in my Stamperia Happiness Mixed Media journal. As you can see, I messed up the stamping a bit on one of the sheep, but that won't really be visible later.

Paint the animals with watercolor paint. I used Daniel Smith watercolors.

Mix a bright spring-green and paint the grass. I dropped in Ultramarine Blue and Lunar Black for shadows, but also to make the foreground darker. I used more diluted green for the furthest hill. Paint the sky with Ultramarine Blue, dab clouds with kitchen paper and add a shadow.

I stamped sentiments from Tim Holtz Tiny Text and repeat-stamped the word 'spring' with one of the stamps from Hoppy Spring.

I also used a black pen to add some lines and shading.

Leaves some of the paper showing, for highlights.

These stamps are really cute. I added white and yellow flowers with a gel pen and a paint pen.

This is my favorite of the three. I used a little Lunar Black which added granulation and also hid the stamping mistakes.

Join us this week in our Make Your Own Background challenge! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

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:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Little Blue Flower Tag

Hello crafters! It is Monday, the sun is shining, and of course we have a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for you. 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

It is time for a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and this week our theme is Make Your Own Background. I hope you will join us! Since it is the first Monday of a new month, the team is showcasing products from a specific company/designer and this week it is Tracy Evans Boutique Designs. You can find Tracy's beautiful products here. 

We also have a new guest designer and during March Simona Rebecchi will be joining us. Head over to hear Instagram account Ginny and the Sheep to see what she has created for you.

My Tracy Evans stamps are still making their way here, so instead I used one of her older designs, when she still designed for AALL & Create. It is called Flower Press and is a very sweet floral design on a text background. The background of the tag was made with the Simon Says Stamp Scattered Leaves stencil set, from the new Beautiful Moments release.

Stamp Tracy's Flower Press on heavy stock cardstock. 

Watercolor the flowers and leaves.

Ink the edges and add highlights to the flower with a white gel pen. I also cut the panel a little narrower.

Smear Distress Ink on a non-stick craft sheet, mist with water and press a tag into the ink. Repeat until you are happy.

When dry, ink through the solid stencil from Simon Says Stamp Scattered Leaves.

Next, use a dark green ink to add the veins, with the second stencil in the set.

Stamp Simon Says Stamp Old Letter Background here and there.

I distressed the edges and used left-over inky paper under the floral panel, for an additional layer. 

I also added Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Royal Gems to the tag, and a Tim Holtz Small Talk sentiment.

The bottom panel is left-over Paper Arts Infusions Colored Stain paper. I used Design tape to hide the edge.

The main sentiment comes from Simon Says Stamp Printmaking Clovers and was stamped on Simon Says Stamp Silver Vellum paper.

Join us this week in our Make Your Own Background challenge! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

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:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Rare Art Journal Page

Hello friends! Today is Rare Disease Day and this year I decided that I wanted to make a page in my art journal. The purpose of Rare Disease Day is to raise awareness and generate change for the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease, their families and carers. 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

One of the events during Rare Disease Day is a Global Chain of Lights in the colors of Rare Disease Day. Instead of actually lights, I made an art journal page. The colors are blue, pink, purple and green. 

One of the many challenges with rare diseases is that it often takes a long time to receive a diagnosis. There is also a lack of awareness in society, as well as within the healthcare system. Patients often have to struggle to receive the right treatment. In the case of, for example, Addison’s disease, this can mean the difference between life and death, as it can quickly become life-threatening. Additionally, there is less research and less funding available for rare diseases.

Both my sons have Addison's disease, an life-long autoimmune disease which affect about 1 in 100.000 people. Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is when the adrenal glands do not produce enough (or none) of the hormones cortisol and aldosterone. Without these, you cannot live.

Start by smearing Distress Ink on an acrylic block and mist with water. Press into your journal. I used Stamperia's Happiness Mixed Media Journal. Let dry. You can do the technique on any watercolor paper. 

Repeat until you are happy with the look. I used a little Distress Oxide as the last layer.

White emboss dots here and there. The dots represent the life-necessary medicin. 

Stamp here and there with the alphabet stamp from Tim Holtz School Desk. 

Ink white glossy cardstock with Distress Ink by smearing the ink pad on the paper.

Die cut rare three times using Tim Holtz Emporium Alphanumeric set. 

Die cut butterflies with Simon Says Stamp Bright Butterflies and Tim Holtz Vault Boutique. 

I emptied out AALL & Create Mindful Moments words on a paper and picked words I thought fit the theme. I didn't use all of the words. 

To make the words stand out better, I die cut the letters one more time with white cardstock.

The glossy butterflies were glued in a trail from the bottom to the top of the page. I added the words in clusters. 

I used Distress Inks in the four colors of Rare Disease Day. 

I like the look of dye ink on white glossy cardstock and it contrasts nicely with the matte watercolor paper. A rare journey indeed, one that you would rather not be on.

I used a little Twisted Citron for the green glossy cardstock. 

More understanding would help for many with rare diseases. 

Repeating the title several times is a one of my favorite techniques in art journaling.

I paired up my rare page with my color wheel page, since they fit both in colors and in message.

You can read more about Rare Disease Day here.

Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.