Over the holidays (when I went home to Canada) I picked up a whole bunch of mixed media supplies with the intention of getting busy in the new year. I feel like art journaling has really been pushed to the back-burner and WHY? I mean, I really like it, I have tonnes of stuff, I just feel like I go through these phases and it's hard for me to do everything.  (Card-making, art journaling, scrapbooking...ha!) 

But anyway. One of the things I purchased was a Dyan Reveley BLACK journal.. I was kind of scared to get started but once I slapped some gesso on the paper the ideas started flowing! 

Before doing anything I slapped a coat of clear gesso onto the paper just to give it some strength (I felt it was a little thin) and then I got down to business. I sprayed it with Dylusions mists then scraped white gesso all over. The gesso kind of sucks up the inks to give some subtle colouring. 

Then I sketched the flowers with the Stabilo "all" pencil and painted the petals in. The rainbow colours are Gelatos! I applied them straight from the tube, then rubbed them with my fingers, then I sprayed them with water. I LOVE how the colours faded away... 

The stamp (Stampendous!), and the dotty stencil (TCW Stencils) completed the piece and I was happy! 

It's almost vacation #2 time (3 weeks holiday for Chinese New Years!) and my weekend has been pretty boring... 

I have come to realize that I loathe not being busy! During the week when I'm at school 10 hours a day I long for the quiet warmth of my living room, but when the weekend comes I'm stir-crazy by lunchtime on Saturday! 

The only thing that helps is challenging myself (or tasking myself) with projects that give me purpose. 

Today's card is for this week's MFT card sketch, and I used previously unused stamps and die cuts, so yay me!

Fun colours, fun image... It's a happy card! 

When I see a black silhouette (whether it's a stamp or a die cut) I cannot resist creating a colorful background. 

It couldn't be easier, and the results are (if I do it well) stunning.

I created the backgrounds with Dylusions mists and water and let them dry naturally (as opposed to drying with a heat tool) and the colours swirled and mixed together and all I had to do was cut it out! 

Thanks for dropping by! 

Supplies:

Stamps- Technique Tuesday I am Thankful, and Thank You Banners

Die Cuts- Memory Box

Ink- Archival 

Pearls- Zva Creative 

This month's Greenhouse Society stamp set is a stunner. 

Maybe it's just that I have a soft-spot for crocuses, but nah.. It's a beautiful stamp. 

Check it out: 

I used the no-line technique and stamped the flowers in a pale brown so the colouring would stand out more. Additionally, after I was done colouring I added shadows and light with chalk pencils to enhance the colours. 

Oh! And that butterfly? I was determined to use it. It had been taking up valuable real-estate on my desk and it needed to get coloured and go live on a card. Operation: Tobi use your stuff was a total success. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Technique Tuesday came out with some really cute stamps at CHA and of course I decided to play with the ones I could colour! 

This is from the set called Favorite Human featuring a couple robots and some silly sentiments to match! 

This is pretty standard Copic colouring, but I did the background with Distress Inks. 

Before colouring the robot I cut out a mask and placed it over the image so I could sponge on some pretty pink and red inks (Festive Berries, and Victorian Velvet). 

Thanks for popping in! 

I yearn for the company of others because it inspires me. 

I take classes whenever I can because learning inspires me. 

I love teaching because my kids inspire me. 

And... The Internet. That time-suck of an invention that steals hours away from us by teasing us with pretty pictures. One such picture was a shot by Kristina Werner at CHA and she was sharing a project she made for Tim Holtz. BAM! Inspiration... "

Her canvas was incredible and I have no idea how she did it, but it was the inspiration I needed to start the cover page of my black Dylusions journal. 

I used Gansai Tambi watercolours and light modeling paste for the stencil. Pretty simple, but a pretty great start to a new journal. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

When I arrived in China a couple years ago the first thing I looked for was a cardmaking/scrapbooking ladies group. I looked on local expat websites and Facebook groups, but I didn't come up with anything. I really enjoy the social aspect of our craft and when I lived in Canada I would get together with "the girls" monthly to hang out and "crop" and I knew I would miss it. And I did... Being "alone" here with no one to talk to about products, techniques and just STUFF gets boring and I was craving camaraderie. 

Enter in a lovely choir student and her mom. I got a Christmas card from them and noticed some very familiar products and my student connected her mom and I on WeChat. (Chinese Facebook) This weekend  there was a get-together with a bunch of her crafty friends and they invited me to join!  YES! 

It was very cramped because their usual space was booked, but everyone just made-do and worked it out. 

What amazed me was that besides a few small differences, we all use the same stuff! 

The crop was at a sweet little coffee shop and they made us handmade donuts and jam... Yummy! 

Unlike other crops I've been to, these ladies work with a theme each  month. This month's theme was: Chinese Zodiac shaker cards. This card features a little tiger from a Hero Arts set. 

And from the same set, a rat (mouse)! 

Thank you for inviting me, ladies! 

I'm looking forward to next month already! 

Supplies: 

Hero Arts Playful Animals, Taylored Expressions Sentiment

Patterned Paper: Echo Park, Simple Stories

Cardstock, Bazzill Cardshoppe

Die Cut: MFT