Illuminate the Dark....Art Journal Page for TCW

  Hello my favourite creative people

I've popped in today to share an Art Journal Page I created for The Crafter's Workshop.

I absolutely love it!

Sometimes the magic just happens.

Art Journaling for me is therapeutic.

It helps me to explore and process my feelings and thoughts. 

 It definitely improves my mental health and wellbeing. All that colour pushes away the darkness.

I wanted to create a personal page around this.....

I used a Michelle Grant image - you know how much I adore these!!!

Lots of gorgeous stencils on this one!

Also finished off with Life of Colour Paint pens. Just love how they add the details and finishing touches.

To see the step by steps to how this came together, go HERE

Much love and colorful hugs

Tam

xx

It's TCW month over at Scrap Matrix!!

                                             Well this month is pretty exciting!

Over at Scrap Matrix, in celebration of ME being on the Design Team for TCW - The Crafter's Workshop we are having a month that is all about their gorgeous products.

I'm kicking it off with a page that was a real labour of love.

Luckily I find doodling relaxing...

Yep this one took a while!

So let's take a look at the process....

I began with a sheet of 12x12 Smooth Cardstock by PaperArtsy.

I also grabbed the gorgeous stencil TCW777 Tree Paradise by Art by Marlene - it's been one I've drooled over for a while.

I placed the stencil onto the cardstock and with a pencil, traced the entire image.

Lift up the stencil and you are left with....

Ok now comes the zentangling....

Go around all of this with a fine black pen - make sure it is waterproof!!

Add in lots of extra details to the basic shapes.

For this part you may want to part yourself in front of Netflix!

I added in a few borders as well.

Ok time for the colour!!

For this I used the NEW ColorSparx Pigment Watercolour Powders

I'm loving playing around with these.

For this I added some of each powder to a paint palette, and then added a few drops of water to create my own watercolours.

The more powder, the stronger the colour.

For the sky I used:

Scarlet, Fuschia, Marigold, Orange and Gamboge.

I also added a touch of Dylusions Ink Spray in Lemon Zest as I wanted a really vibrant yellow.

As they are watercolours, they blend together beautifully making ombre sunsets really simple!

For the hills I used Turquoise, Lime Green and Chartreuse.

For the front hill area I used Turquoise, Orchid and Wisteria.

Now this is the part where I should have stopped, but I didn't.

I added Cerulean Blue to the trees as I think this is my favourite shade in the Color Sparx.

I think I preferred them white but never mind

I did leave a few pops of white - this helps to brighten everything!

I'm going to pop it in a frame.

I love all the details.

I can't wait to see what you create this month using the yummy TCW products.

Don't forget to add your projects to the Scrap Matrix Shares Facebook Page and let us know what products you used. 

Oh and also please tag #tcwstencillove in your projects as I know they'd just love to see them too.

I'll be back again a bit later in the month!

Luv Tam

xx

Pause and Reset - An Art Journal Page for TCW

 Hello lovely creative souls

Today I'm sharing an Art Journal Page created for The Crafter's Workshop.

It's a perfect fit for the New Year - and I hope you find some time to relax, reset and press pause. 

I also hope that this year is a little kinder and a little gentler to you.

To see full step by steps, just head HERE to the blog.

I used an image by Michelle Grant. I just love using her images - it means I can lose myself in the background rather than get bogged down on attempting a face or figure (something I've yet to master).

All the details are created with Life of Colour Pens.

Love them!

Much arty hugs

Tam

xxx

Scrap Matrix and TCW....what a combo

Hi there creatives

Today I've popped in to share another c reation for Scrap Matrix for our TCW month!

I thought I'd share one of the gorgeous Art Journal pages that I've been creating, playing with an image by the amazing Michelle Grant.

I'm still learning to create faces, and am really not confident with them, and I find capturing emotions and expressions so difficult, and sometimes I get bogged down in that part of the creating and my play time kinda loses it's shine.

So.... using these images frees me up to really focus on the freedom of creating.

It means I get to have fun with the background, focusing on TCW stencils!

Let's dive straight in and see how this came together.

Begin by adding a layer of gesso to your page.

Then cut out the image you wish to use.

I used one from the 'Silent' Pack.

Adhere with TCW Gel Medium, adding a layer to the top of the image too. 

This protects the paper when adding paints etc.

I tend to place the face on one side of the background, giving more space to play.

Now it's time to add some colour.

I grabbed a few PaperArtsy Paints that appealed to me.

I went with:

Cherry Red

Peach Nectar

Slimed

Twilight

Cerulean 

Jade

I began with the darker colour, Twilight.

I added that around the image, and a touch on the right hand side to balance the page.

I then placed down NEW stencil TCW Floral Spectacle in 12x12 size and working quickly while still wet, I removed some of the paint with a wet baby wipe.

I then added a touch of 'Jade' and repeated the above step.

I then added some of the 'Slimed' over the space inbetween the two colours.

This time I used TCW Deco Leaves Stencil in 12x12.

Once the background is done, I began to focus on the image.

Firstly I added some flowers using TCW Floral Spectacle in 6x6.

This time I used a sponge and paint through the stencil.

I used 'Cherry Red' and 'Peach Nectar'

It's important to have some variegation with this part for it to be more natural.

I also added some to the right hand edge, again some lighter, and some deeper in colour.

I then added some vine work using TCW Jungle Vines Stencil 6x6.

I used a variety of paint colours for this part,mainly in blues, greens and white.

Now I needed to ensure the image looked part of the page, and not just plonked on top.

I added shadows and depth around some of the edges and then added colour to her face and hair.

I find this step really important.

I actually enjoy it, as it's the moment the magic happens...

her face comes forward and it all ties together.

I also grabbed the Tracy Scott stamp ETS43- and stamped a few feathers onto PaperArtsy Smooth Cardstock using black archival ink.

I then added colour and cut them out.

I adhered these with TCW Gel Medium to look like they were hanging down from the flowers in her hair.

I also chose this Paper Artsy Stamp EEG23 to add the title and a quote.

Add a few scribbles and flicks of paint.....

That's it from me today....

I love seeing what you're creating with your TCW goodies.

Don't forget when sharing them on Instagram, add the hashtag #tcwstencillove and then TCW can see them too.

Much love and creative play...

Tam

xx

Either/Or Ar journal page for Scrap Matrix

Hey creative people.

I've popped in today to share my Either/Or page for the current challenge over at Scrap Matrix.

A cutesy page with a touch of naughtiness.....

I selected the following:

Page

Circles

Brights

(I tried to do pastel but I couldn't help myself - me and brights just go together)!

Naughty

First I gathered a few supplies that were circly and appealing to me.

I had no plan - I just opened my art journal and added some pieces of Art by Marlene paper torn into strips from the Collage Paper #3. I also added in some torn words from a magazine.

I adhered with TCW Gel Medium - this is my new fave for sticking down images in my journal - I find using my finger works best and there's no left over residue! YESSS!!!

I then added some 'Ocean' and 'Yellow' in Dina Paints - randomly swiping across the page - they mixed together to form a lovely limey green colour.

Whilst still wet I used the stencil TCW Circle Jumble  and a wet baby wipe to remove some paint.

Immediately I saw hills - so I marked in some hills and then I added some 'lemon', 'turquoise' and 'magenta' into the sky section - couldn't have a green sky and these colours were a bit sunsetty.

I also added some circle background stamps from the Art by Marlene Little Ladies stamp set. There's quite a few circle ones in the pack.

Ok so the background is done, time to start working on what to add to the rest of it...

I love that girl in the stamp set who's leaning to the side - she definitely looks like she's doing a cartwheel - this reminds me of twirling and again has a circly vibe.

I stamped her out onto PaperArtsy Smooth Cardstock 3 times and then added colour.

I then cut them out and adhered them onto the page to look like she was twirling down the hill.

Once I had glued them down with TCW Gel Medium, I felt the background was too muted. I needed some POP so I grabbed my Dylusions neons - these are quite translucent so they're perfect for adding over paint to brighten it up....

Much much better...

The final step was to add in some flowers and grass to the hills, some doodles to the sky and a bit of a naughty quote - the Dylusions Back Chat are perfect for this - you could choose any - most of them fit the naughty brief!

When I saw the one that said

"Does running away from your problems count as exercise?"

I knew it was perfect.

I also added "I'm calling in fat tomorrow"

There you have it - a fun and little bit naughty page.

That's it from me today.

I've already been working on another one for this theme so keep your eyes peeled to that Facebook Shares Page.