Friday 8 May 2015

Simplicity Journal Flower Garden

Two of my Blog friends, Ingrid Kristina and Pamellia have recently started new Mixed Media Challenge blogs, so I thought as I had some spare time, I would play in my journal and make something to add to their challenges. I'll provide links at the bottom of my post.
I decided to use my simplicity journal, a small leather bound journal with hand made paper pages.
As I totally forgot to take step by step photos, - here is a quick run down of how I did my pages:
1. Cover the pages with Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap.
2. Add texture using Wendy Vecchi clear texture paste through the Tim Holtz Flourish stencil.
3. Add a thin layer of watered down gesso
4. Add colour with the help of fluid acrylic paints (I used Dercoart Media Fluid Acrylics)
5. Deepen colours in places with Gelatos using a baby wipe
6. Add some Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs
7. Add some background stamping (I used a Andy Skinner stamp)
8. Stamp text on some book paper covered with clear gesso and distress the edges.
9. Stamp focal stamp (I used the Tim Holtz fairy from the  Winged Things stamp set)
10. Distress the edges.
11. Add some small flower embellishments (I used the Sheena Douglas apple blossom die).
Below follow some details still:

Somehow using the texture past through the flourish stencil made the raised bits look like flower stems when I coloured them with my mix of paints and gelatos, it kind of worked perfectly for this page as it was meant to be a flower garden page.
This text came from the Tim Holtz Photo Studio stamp set. I stamped it in black archival on gessoed book paper and then distressed the edges.

I added some strips of tissue tape so the fairy had something to sit on. 

The fairy herself was stamped on smooth paper in archival. I then stamped her again on book paper. I fussycut both and then paper pieced her wings. She was then covered with Glue 'N Seal and when that was dry coloured with Faber Castell Big Brush pens. Adding the Glue 'N Seal helps to blend the marker really easily and when they are dry they are totally permanent.
I added her to the page with matte medium and then added some shadows with my Big Brush pen again.
I am going to add this to the following challenges:

Anything But Cute: Vintage Garden
Mixed Media World Vintage

Well, that's it for today, thanks so much for visiting like always


55 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful work as always! Vaerie

maria's knutselplezier said...

A very beautiful, colourful page, just the way I like it Astrid, I really love the size of your journal !!

Have a nice weekend!!
Maria

Silvis Kreativstube said...

Hallo liebe Astrid,

ich bewundere deine Werke sehr. Es gibt immer so viel zu entdecken und ich würde so etwas liebend gern auch gestalten können. Aber das traue ich mir noch nicht zu, Dein Werk ist absolut grandios geworden. Ganz liebe Grüße Silvi

froebelsternchen said...

Just fabulous Astrid! A wonderful spread is this!
Happy weekend to you!

chrissie said...

Stunning Astrid with wonderful techniques

Love Chrissie xx

Scrumplescrunch said...

Hello Astrid,
Great pages with wonderful depth.
Smiles:)
Sue

Anonymous said...

Fabulous pages Astrid! Sue C x

brenda said...

A stunning page Astrid, such intensity of colours combined with lots of lovely texture.

Hope you have a good weekend.

B x

Klaudia/Kszp said...

Fabulous pages! :)

Jac said...

such good colours used here, I have been using lots of tims tissues as well, they really do add something special, adore this x

Pamellia said...

Wow Astrid, as usual, I am blown away with your amazing abilities and creativity! What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall of your craft room!! This is gorgeous, and they DO look like stems!! Your colours are so vibrant and I love the fairy addition, so perfect for a garden!! I am truly thankful for your support and your kind words, and I am so honoured that you joined in with us at Anything But Cute for our 'Vintage Garden' challenge! Thank you, big hugs, Pamellia DT :)

rachel said...

this is stunning Astrid - I love your pages - they are beautiful - full of colour and texture - fabulous! Hugs rachel x

sarascloset said...

Astrid, I saw your thumbnail on Anything But Cute, and I had to come in for a quick look. (Your blog is now delivered straight to my e-mail--that means I don't want to miss a single post!--but haven't been there yet). I just had to say that this has got to be my favorite creation of yours! (For now, anyway!) I could go on and on about this lovely scene, but for time's sake, I'll just say " W O W " !!!!

And since I'm here, I'll put on my Anything But Cute DT hat on, and thank you for linking this gorgeousness up to Anything But Cute! Hugs!

Patty O'Malley said...

This is gorgeous, Astrid! I love that little fairy!

massofhair said...

BEAUTIFUL pages Astrid, rich and warm colours and layering to die for... Thank you for the step by step, really helps. Amazing inspiration as always :-) xxx

Ros Crawford said...

So vibrant and beautifully done!

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

Great quote for these pages Astrid...lovely in total
Greetings, Alie :-)

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Wow your pages are gorgeous, love them very much. Happy Weekend, Shirleyxx

Diana Taylor said...

Just stunning! I love the textures and details in your work - the whole piece is beautiful and magical.

Juliz Design Post said...

Stunning colourful pages.
Julie x

Redanne said...

Oh wow Astrid, your page is gorgeous, the colours are sumptuous and your design, as always is fantastic. They really do look like stems in your fairy garden - I just adore that fairy stamp - so much so I have ordered it!

Huge congratulations for being featured on the Ranger blog today too with one of your fabulous Flower Garden creations too! Hugs, Anne xx

Meggymay said...

Fabulous journal pages, as always so many gorgeous details to enjoy seeing.
Yvonne

Vintagehandmade said...

What a spectacular spread, Astrid! All I want to do is touch that brilliant texture! I love your vibrant colors and perfect layering - fantastic as always! That fairy stamp is on my wish list now! Can't take my eyes of this beauty!
Thank you so much for joining us at Anything But Cute for our Vintage Garden challenge!
Hugs :)
Branka xxx

Pawsitively Creative said...

Oh goodness gracious and more! This spread is so Wowzers! The stencil really does look like flowers stems and you were genius to see it! Your colors work perfectly together and that fairy is fantastic! Wonderful creation!

Thanks for joining in our first challenge, "Vintage Garden", at Anything But Cute! Hugz! ~Niki DT

Rupa Swaminathan said...

Such a pretty page.love the warm colors and how clever to have a seat for the fairy? So thoughtful Astrid.

Rupa Swaminathan said...

Such a pretty page.love the warm colors and how clever to have a seat for the fairy? So thoughtful Astrid.

mamablitger said...

Oh dear... Astrid everything from you is STUNNING. I adore it. This project as well. The colors.. So warm, so pretty. The backgrounds you build up to the most amazing level. The decoration and/or the embellishment. You never exaggerate... Always finding the correct point where to say stop.
Thank you so much for sharing such wonderful inspiration. And I will keep this one close for further inspiration..
Thanks a lot. You make awesome ART !! Hugs from Monica... Spain

Jackie PN said...

sooo gorgeous Astrid!! Love the texture paste also, I thought the same of the flower stems- what a happy accident!
Happy Mother's Day my friend! xo

Inkypinkycraft said...

great pages and as always i love the textures and layers x

Samra said...

Stunning take on our challenge! Love the rich colors and gorgeous textures in your journal pages.
Thank you so much for joining us at Anything But Cute Vintage Garden Challenge!
Hugs :)
Samra DT

Dorthe said...

Gorgeous pages, Astrid. The stenciled flourish gives a fantastic effect, and your colours makes it almost live. The flower die is so sweet, and you coloured them so beautiful.
Also wonderful living background, and the fairy living there, must have such joyfull days.
Thank you for showing ,dear.
Hugs,Dorthe

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

No simplicity here...a complex garden of texture and delight!

Terry said...

Love your pages, Astrid! The flourish is so lovely and the colors are radiant! Great mix of stamps! Thank you for sharing all the steps! Hugs!

Marjie Kemper said...

What a fabulous spread! Love that colorful background and the way you've colored the sweet SA girl (one of my faves, for sure). TFS - off to pin!

experiments in paper said...

WOW! Love how your flourish turned into flower stems....and your color/images are AMAZING! The vividness of your colors is fantastic - will definitely be turning to the gelatos now! Thanks for the detailed step-outs - so inspiring! xxx Lynn

S@ndy Diller said...

Delightful Astrid - You are amazing!!

Cec said...

Super journal page with lots of fabulous texture and cheerful bright colours. Thanks for joining us at Anything But Cute.
Hugs!
Cec

suziqu's thread works said...

Dear Astrid
All I can say is that this is truly amazing. I loved following all of your techniques explaining how you achieved the wonderful effects like with the texture paste and the flourish stencil and all of the papers, stamped words
and rich and vibrant colors. Isn't there a fairy living in everyone's garden.
You are like a fairy to us bringing so much beauty and inspiration!
Warm hugs,
Suzy

Shilpa Nagaonkar said...

Lovely garden here, Astrid. I am amazed to see that wonderful texture and blended colors...just wow!!

Corrie Herriman said...

Stunning Astrid !
Corrie x

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Gorgeous Astrid, love the colours. Everything you do just looks great.
Happy crafting, Angela x

Annie said...

absolutely stunning Astrid. I solve the TH stamp you have used.think its one of my all time favourites.

Wonderful details and textures.

See you soon...hugs Annie xx

Julia Aston said...

Wonderful colors on these pages Astrid - love the winged girl and great stenciled texture! Julia xx

Anjas-Artefaktotum said...

Amazing scenery really magica., It reminds me of the "secret garden"
Hugs Anja

Unknown said...

Absolutely stunning and a lot of oooh aaah when i got to the close up! Gorgeous! Xxx

Jenny Marples said...

Seriously fabulous Astrid!!! LOVE that the Flourishes have been used for those gorgeous little flowers and the way you've mixed so many media from all your favourite sources to create something so beautiful. Jenny x

Unknown said...

Thank you for the shout out too, Astrid! Much appreciated! Can't see you link on our blog though. Do link if you like, it would be a fantastic entry! Thank you! Xxx

Unknown said...

Yay! Thank you for linking up to our challenge at Mixed Media World! May the number 13 bring luck! ;) xx

Inky and Quirky Designs said...

Wonderful to see you over at MMW Astrid,love this and I adore that little fairy too :)
Big hugs
Donna xxx

Words and Pictures said...

Beautiful flourish stems in your flower garden, and I adore the little fairy perched amidst all that fabulous colour and texture - wonderful pages!
Alison xx

Unknown said...

Hi Astrid!! Okay I don't what has happened but I don't seem to be following you, I was convinced I was. I see your gorgeous artwork all over blogland - completely my oversight but I'm am now all followed up!! :)

Love this page, and that fairy is super cute. The close up of the texture is just brilliant (I adore texture) I feel like I can feel the 'bumps' through the computer screen!

Thanks for joining us at Anything But Cute
Hugs
Georgie xx

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Ich war schon so lange nicht mehr auf Blogrundgang :( Heute endlich habe ich mich mal wieder aufgemacht :) Du warst -wie kann es auch anders sein- wunderbar kreativ in letzter Zeit. Tolle Werke sind entstanden. Die Journaldoppelseite gefällt mir ausgesprochen gut.

Ruth said...

Such fun pages, love the fairy! Great colours, fab! Ruth x

Deborah Wainwright said...

Astrid this beautiful. I love the texture you have achieved which add such lovey touch to your page. Thank you for joining us at MMW hugs Debs xx

Marjie Kemper said...

This looks like a secret garden I'd like to visit! Beautiful colors - such a rich scene. Off to pin.

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