Happy Place Journal Page

Hello friends! I hope you are well! The sun is shining and we have a new challenge for you at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog. Our theme this week is Let's 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.

If you have never done art journaling before, I hope you will try it out. It is a lot of fun and there are so many options! Don't miss the project by our August guest designer Ann Chuang.

I made a page in my Dylusions Small Creative Journal, a mixed media background with texture paste and Distress Paint, stamped and watercolored flowers and some bits and pieces I found on my desk.

Start by applying texture paste through Tim Holtz Focus stencil. When dry, paint with Distress Paint and mist with water. Let dry.

Stamp here and there with Simon Says Stamp Old Letter.

Add Stickles glitter glue to the stenciled area, using your finger. 

Stamp Tim Holtz French Garden flowers on watercolor paper.

Paint with watercolors. Drop in darker shades before the first layer dries completely.

Die cut with Simon Says Stamp coordinating French Garden dies.

I also die cut Simon Says Stamp Stitching Butterflies from paper that had already been painted. 

Add a few postage stickers from Tim Holtz Postmarked and numbers from his Clippings Stickers.

Don't worry about perfection when watercoloring.

I also added Tim's Design Tape Trims and sentiment stickers.

I found some strips of Tim Holtz Backdrops papers on my desk and added them to the page, together with Design Tape.

Don't miss the Kid's Summer Vacation Challenge, which goes on until 29 August. There are three great surprise parcels to be won! For kids 2-16 years. Read more here.

Join us this week in our Let's Art Journal 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.

Mixed Media Sea Tag

Hi crafters! It is Monday again! Time flies way too quickly during summer.

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.

Summertime Blues is our theme this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! Don't miss the last project by our July guest designer Thom Santilla.

I made a mixed media seaside tag using gesso, texture paste and watercolor paint, which is always a fun combination. There is a little boat on the sea going out on an adventure. 

Start by applying gesso to the tag, making marks with a palette knife. When dry, use texture paste to create the sea. 

Watercolor paint gives interesting effects on both gesso and texture paste. The paste is more absorbent. Mix paint, but don't use too much water. Start by painting the sky. Let the paints flow into each other. You can dab some paint off with a paper towel. Make the sky lighter towards the horizon. Then paint the sea. I used Daniel Smith watercolor paint. 

When dry, wipe some paint off with an almost dry paper towel, to increase the texture.

Splatter with Winsor & Newton Permanent White Gouache. 

The birds were stamped with Hero Arts Sunset Over Waves.

Sentiments were stamped with Tim Holtz Tiny Text on the margins of the same old book paper used for the boat. Cut into strips. 

Watercolor on gesso creates very interesting textures, especially if you leave marks in the gesso.

The boat was made with old book paper, a black pen and a piece of left-over inky paper. I stamped 'summer' with Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery.

I also added Simon Says Stamp Pawsitively Dazzling Opal Gems to the tag.

Tie the tag with cheese cloth, twine and organza ribbon.

Join us this week in our Summertime Blues 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.

Colorful Granulating Backgrounds

Hi crafters! I have a tutorial on the Simon Says Stamp store blog today. I made a card and a tag, using granulating watercolor paint and combined with resist techniques.

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.

I made a whole bunch of backgrounds with fun granulating watercolor paint (Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi Granulating Colors), combined with stencil resist techniques. This watercolor paint is so fun. The paint separates into different colors and gives a great granulating texture at the same time. It is easy and a lot of fun. You will get a different result every time.

I made a whole bunch of backgrounds for the tutorial and couldn’t pick just one for my main project, so I made a card and a tag. Below is a sneak peek of the tag.

To see the full tutorial and all the steps, head over to the Simon Says Stamp Store Blog.

Thank you for visiting! See you again tomorrow!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Monstera Art Journal Page Tutorial

Hello crafters! I hope you had a good weekend! We had lovely sunny weather and even more spring flowers are not visible.

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 an A bit o' Green challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I hope you will join us! And don't miss the gorgeous project by our March guest designer Rox aka Red Dirt Crafter.

I made an art journal page with a whole lot of green, in fact, with almost only green, with just a bit of yellow and blue. I really like the monstera plant and the great shape of the flowers. It also has a funny name. The large leaves take up most of the space, with the additions of some words and other elements.

I have a bunch of pages in my art journals where I have used up left-over paste and/or paint and this was one of them. I had used Tim Holtz Woodgrain stencil together with texture paste and Distress paints. It is in my large Dylusions journal.

Start by stamping here and there with Simon Says Stamp Old Letter.

Apply Ranger Starshine Glitter gel to the paste areas.

Die cut Simon Says Stamp Monstera from heavystock paper. Smear Distress Inks on a non-stick craft sheet and mist with water. Press the paper into the ink. Let dry.

Repeat a couple of times until you are happy with the result. 

The final layer is Distress Oxide Ink, but just touch the paper to the ink here and there.

Tim Holtz Sign Painter letters were stamped with Simon Says Stamp Green Meadows Pawsitively Perfect Saturated inks. Die cut with Simon Says Stamp Sign Painter Letters coordinating dies.

The smaller sentiments come from Tim Holtz Tiny Text and were stamped with green ink. Simon Says Stamp Circle Loops were die cut from green glitter cardstock.

Glue the sentiment strips here and there.

This technique with multiple layers of Distress Ink is one of my all-time favorite techniques. You can also use Simon Says Stamp Monstera stencil set together with this die.

The title needed to stand out better and I cut a strip of Simon Says Stamp Color-Blend and glitter cardstock as borders.

This sentiment come from Tim Holtz World Traveller. 

More yummy ink texture.

The yellow glitter gel adds a bit of shine to the background. 

Simon Says Stamp Simple Peace was die cut from Color-Blend paper. The Color-Blend papers are glossy, adding an additional texture to the page.

Join us this week in our A bit o' Green 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.