Summer Vibes

I feel like I’m back in the swing of things again and the journaling vibes are flowing nicely. I decided to add another page in my Mixed Media journal and use a new product to me. In the recent package sent by Clare at Paper Pen and Plan, was a little jar of Texture Powder by Prima. I say ‘little’ it is in fact quite substantial and if I’m careful will last me a fair while. When added to another medium it creates a texture paste.

I started with a base of acrylic paint and texture added with the texture tools. It didn’t worry me that it was the backside of the page with stitching as I could just cover it with something else.

I mixed up the Texture powder with Unicorn Acrylic paint. It was just a matter of finding the right consistency myself, the Unicorn paint is already creamy so it didn’t take much powder to turn it into a useable paste.

It went through a stencil perfectly and I can also say that the colour wasn’t diluted at all by the powder.

Once it was dry I added a few scribbles and a few collage bits then had a flash of inspiration and went out to cut a couple of pieces of lavendar from the garden.

The texture is just great and again the pages of the journal stood up to it all with no trouble at all.

For Prima products and more go to Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy and get 10% off with the code JAINE10 too!

Jaine x

Tiny TN Insert

Every tuesday it’s #tinytntuesday on the Facebook page of Paper Pen and Plan, when we showcase our tiny pages and think small. This week I decided to think a bit bigger by creating not just a page but a whole insert. My old insert is pretty much busting out of the cover by now anyway, so as I had some time on my hands (like a lot of us do right now!) I thought I’d put together a new one.

Rather than create a new one with blank pages I decided it would be better to make one where each page has already been started to save time later. This is my mop up paper which I keep in a cheap A5 sketch book. I use it to clean brushes, stencils and anything else which might be messy.

It’s perfect for collages.

I cut a strip the same height as my tn from a section I liked, and stamped a couple of stamps over randomly.

I folded this up to create pages.

I glued each fold together,

forming my little booklet.

It was just a matter of covering it with some cute paper (Simple Vintage Garden District by Simple Stories) from Paper Pen and Plan and it’s ready to go.

The Paper Pen and Plan Facebook page is here and the Etsy shop to buy the Simple Stories papers is here

Stay safe

Jaine xx

January So Far

Despite the on going clear out in the basement, my work table still looks like a bomb has gone off on top of it. It’s littered with projects I’m working on which you’ll get to see soon along with some new craft materials I found last weekend at Expo Creativ in Luxembourg, exciting stuff. I visited Lux Expo with friends taking public transport to get there for a change. Honestly, I have no idea why I don’t do it more often. It’s so cheap and painless and in March it’ll be free too so it’s a bit of a no brainer! We were pleasantly surprised to discover a few new craft stands as well as some familiar faces. We have to continue to support this local event even though it’s tiny in comparison with Frankfurt or Dortmund. It’s still the only event of its kind in the country. Lena keeps telling me I need to have a stand there too, maybe one day!

My A6 bullet journal and cover embellished with materials from the January box from Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy

I’m continuing to use my A6 bullet journal this year, it’s the only one I regularly kept up in 2019. I’m using one called Scribbles That Matter which I found on line and it’s great. I don’t get any bleed through with my pens and I’m mostly using a Micron pen for my doodles. This little one won’t be used with watercolour paints as it’s for carrying around with me and on the go planning so has to be functional and practical. It does come with a nifty pen holder but I’m reusing my hand painted cover so the holder gets lost inside, but I’m sure I can knock something up if I need it.

January kicked off with the first Facebook challenge of the year on the WOW! Facebook page. The new theme is Love, Valentine, Wedding etc so it was a brilliant opportunity to create some hearts. I’m not an obviously, all pink and red hearts sort of person so jumped at the chance to try out some new colour combinations coming up with these two cards. I simply can’t decide which of the purple colours I like best, Royal Crush or Persian Indigo, they’re equally gorgeous. Photography isn’t my strong point and I really wish you could see how wonderful they are. I love that little splash of colour on the top one created by simply dipping a piece of watercolour paper into Distress Oxide inks on my craft mat. It’s a technique I love.

Have a great weekend I hope it’s a crafty one and I’ll speak soon.

Jaine xx

Going Back To What I love

Firstly, a very happy 2020 to everyone, I’ve had a tummy bug for the past 24 hours so not a great start to the year, but hey on the bright side I’ve lost those extra Christmas kilo’s! There’s always a bright side.

Remind me next Christmas not to bother with a December journal, even the smaller format didn’t help. I failed dismally and it lies unfinished (unstarted actually) in my box of Christmas crafting bits. I’ve closed the lid and put the box away not to be opened until Christmas 2020! Some you win, some you loose, just as long as I learn from it!

I think maybe this was why I took a long hard look at my planners and decided what it was I really wanted out of them and for a while now I’ve had a longing to go back to using an art journal. I’ve missed it as it used to be such a big part of my life. So in the above photo, on the left is a brand new Dylusions square journal all ready to be inked and painted in. It’ll probably take me a while to dirty the first page but once I have I’ll be off like a rocket.

Next is a bullet journal for every day planning in a rose gold cover I made for it from some amazing paper fabric. The Simple Stories travelers notebook has two Moleskine sketchbooks in as the size is perfect for them. The pink case has a Basement Studio planner to keep me on track, and after that is a hand bound watercolour sketchbook for a bit of watercolour play as the Moleskine isn’t really up to the job. Next comes my calligraphy practice book. The last two books are an A6 bullet journal in a hand made cover for carrying around in my bag and a brand new itty bitty mini travelers notebook just because everyone should have one!

I’ve started the every day bullet journal and had the chance to use my Hearts stencil I designed for Paper Pen and Plan and their January Kit Box. I created this graphic design by simply masking with washi tape and using Distress inks through the stencil. I love how it worked out from such a simple design.

Well that’s all from me today, have a lovely weekend and I’ll be back soon trying to break out of my usual colour comfort zone!

Jaine xx