I haven't used Twinkling H2os from Colourarte for a long time so I was really excited to receive a load in my DT package. I thought I would show you what they look like and how I have set up my pallet
All of the supplies shown are from: https://www.colourarte.com/ please do check them out because they are awesome!
I am a member of the 2018 Colourarte design team PLEASE NOTE: I was given this / these product(s) in exchange for my honest review and opinion, the fact that I was given these does not alter my opinion in anyway. This review is my own personal opionion on the product / company, given in good faith and has not be sponsored or endorsed. None of the links are affiliate links. Unless otherwise stated, all photography is my own.
Anna Brim has some amazing goodies from the collage sheets
and tutorials this month over on her patreon page, so many so that I was having so
many creative ideas. It is easy to get overwhelmed when you get new art goodies
and I guess this happened to me this month. I tried to create something that
people could use as ideas, but everything I tried just didn't resonate with me
and it didn't feel organic enough.
I wasn't happy with what I was creating until I thought about the elements on
the collage sheets and referred back to my previous art journaling style of the
zetti collage style where I rip up sheets and deconstruct the images and
manipulate them into something new. It was at this point I came about seeing
Anna's gorgeous acrylic pour art sheets as sea. Anna included a lovely sheet
with a girl with blue hair and instantly I knew she was going to become a mermaid.
Art Journal Process
I painted a mix of pinks and purple watercolour on to the
page, then proceeded to rip up the collage sheet to make the sea, the swirls
from the sheet are beautiful and actually remind me of a swirling Lush bath
bomb. Next I glued the girls top half on to the page (also one of Anna's
collage sheets) and then in pencil drew on the mermaid tail which is half
in the water.
Next came the watercolour for the tail, which was create by
mixing blues and white and then adding some blobs of the Gansai Tambi Watercolours in
gold (Starry Colours). To finish the painting itself, I added some more
splashes of the gold paint in the blue gold, this really added texture to the
piece making it seem like it had been sprinkled in sand.
It needed a quote and straight away I thought of 'The Little
Mermaid'. I was at a planner meet at a friends house as I was creating this, so
asked around the table if anyone had a quote. We found the perfect one: 'She
longs for the wild salt air'. A final die cut shape was added to add a coral
type look and the page was finished. I am so happy with the final page and pleased
that I have gone back to my original style.
5 Minute Art Page
In addition to the art collage page, I also created a quick
5 minute journal page using 2 small journal card sized sheets that Anna had
added from her own old journal pages. I added a watercolour wash to the page
and then added the girl on the star. I decided to cut up the second quote sheet
to spread this out across the page. An instant inspirational quote page for my
journal.
Cambs Planner Con is in it's 3rd year and we are delighted to open our doors to planner enthusiasts of any kind to join together for a day of fun, listening to inspiring and motivational talks as well as creative workshops, meeting new friends and of course shopping for new goodies.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday 21st April 2018
Event Time: 10 am - 4 pm
Location: St Neots, Cambridgeshire, UK.
On site parking. Disabled access.
Couple of minutes walk from the train station (45 mins from London Kings Cross)
What can I expect on the day?
Inspirational talk from Charlotte Ashley-Robberts of www.yourtimetogrow.com 'Do you realise your potential?'
Inspirational talk from Lisa Saunders of www.lollipopboxclub.com'Inspire.Motivate.Create' - A talk to inspire you, motivate you and show you how you can create and achieve anything you wish for.
Creative workshop from Loti Fuster-Bradley of www.mamamakesstore.co.uk 'Creative Planner Stamping for Dummies!'
Creative Workshop from Joey 'Hand Lettering Basics' You can find Joey on instagram and Facebook as SoJoey.
Materials needed to take part in both creative workshops will be provided for you and yours to take home and keep.
Buffet Lunch
Shopping at some of the finest stalls / companies in the UK planner community.
Chance to meet with fellow enthusiasts and oggle planners!
Continuing on from my previous blog post, I would like to show you a piece of work I have made to help ensure that my Wild project remains at the forefront of my mind.
I was itching to display the word in my art journal somehow and Anna Brim's Patreon tutorial on painting a monochrome giraffe inspired me to get out my watercolours and paint a giraffe pattern background. Here is Anna's stunning giraffe:
I like the way that my word stands out because of the clean white outlines that are just like the clean white spaces between the brown patches.
I also love the many different shades of brown and the occasional hint of sparkle created by a bit of fun I had with my Kuretake Gansai Tambi Starry Color paints.
My landscape art journal was perfect for this double page spread where I have demonstrated the importance of this word by the amount of space it takes up. My intention is set and I am really looking forward to the next stage in this project.
Phew, I love a bit of memory keeping and have finally
completed my Plannercon Europe Creative journal and my Summer adventures
travelogue. I have been so inspired by Anna Brims online course on creating an
'Adventure Journal', I can highly recommend it. I will talk you through the
basics of the course and how I got started on my Adventure journeys, right
through to the finished product including my full creative journal flip
throughs.
My pages from my summer
'Adventure Journal'
What is 'Adventure Journaling' all about?
I don't want to waffle on too much (well I am doing a
journal about Belgium!), as Anna explains it all in the course itself, so
firstly check out Anna's link on Mrs Brimbles to read all about the course. Mrs Brimbles Adventure Journaling Course
If you want to creative a travel journal, but have no idea where to start then
this is a great place to learn. Anna guides you through what an adventure is
and gets you to write down what your adventure might be. There are guided
videos and information as well as art tutorials if you want to draw or paint in
your journal either before, during or after the trip. I have added my initial
pages that I completed for the course and ideas below in both my smash book and
in my Junk Journal.
Setting up the Journal before you go:
The next few lessons involve getting your kit together to
make the journal and what pre-prep planning you can do to your pages before you
go, as well as what supplies to take with you. I always add simple backgrounds,
journaling cards and stickers etc before I go and then leave space to write or
stick photos in. Supplies wise I take a basic kit of pens and washi tape etc,
but Anna explains this far better than me.
I have loved the course and so much is packed in to the
lessons making it great value for money. You can sign up to the course here
mrsbrimbles.co.uk/course/adventure-journaling
Have a look at my completed journal below and then be sure to have a look at my
photos below the video.
So that's it, my finished insert and almost finished insert
from the day. I have thoroughly enjoyed the course and completing the journals
and as you know I am now a little journal obsessed. I can't wait to choose my
next 'adventure'.
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FB Group)
It's crazy to think that January is nearly over and 2018 is in full swing, but I have to say that Anna's December Sticker Kit - My Deer You Sparkle - was the perfect set to get me going with planning in the new year.
This month I'm sharing two layouts with you - my January monthly spread, as well as a weekly layout. The inserts I use are ones that I make for myself (in Powerpoint, with tables, so it's super easy to do if you need inserts on the run) printed on 120gsm paper.
I decided to split the sticker kit into 2 sections - the more 'new years-y' stickers for the monthly layout, and the beautiful watercolour animals for the weekly layout. Both are 2018 themed, but they're different enough that it doesn't feel like repeating.
I stuck to Anna's colour palette of black, gold and white with all the additional extras, too. All the washi tapes came from my (rather sizeable, and thus very ready to be used) stash.
As always, I have videos for you to see the process!
This week I used washi tape to divide up the boxes. I don't do this every month, because often I find it makes the page feel heavy and cluttered, but I don't mind it in this layout. The black and white colour palette for the washi tapes helps, I think and provides a nice contrast to the stickers.
I'm also a fan of having a 'heading' box - I divide each page into four, with one section for each day, plus a 'free' box that I use for heavy decorating. The position of the box has a tendency to change from week to week, and I've even been known to put it in the middle of the page!
This week, though, it's in the top left, reminding me that 2018 is all about new beginnings. No time to dwell on things past!
I hope that everyone has had a wonderful start to the new year. May it be filled with amazing new adventures for you all.
Cambs Planner Con is in its 3rd year and we are delighted to open our doors to planner (and journal) enthusiasts of any kind to join together for a day of fun, listening to inspiring and motivational talks as well as creative workshops, meeting new friends and of course shopping for new goodies.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday 21st April 2018
Event Time: 10 am – 4 pm
Location: St Neots, Cambridgeshire.
On site parking. Disabled access.
Couple of minutes walk from the train station (45 mins from London Kings Cross)
What can I expect on the day?
Inspirational and motivational talks
Creative workshops
Materials needed to take part in both creative workshops will be provided for you and yours to take home and keep.
Buffet Lunch
Shopping at some of the finest stalls / companies in the UK planner community.
Chance to meet with fellow enthusiasts and oggle planners!
Of course there will be some treats and surprises too!
In advance we will send you a set of stickers for marking the occasion in your planner or journal
Hi everyone! Is it too late to still
wish everyone a Happy New Year? I often question when it has passed
the point when you can still speak well wishes, I guess when people
start giving you funny looks in return. As I'm writing this we still
haven't quite reached double figure dates, so I'm gunna go with it
and wish everyone a fun, creative year ahead!
(This is from a recent wander around a local nature reserve)
With a new year comes the inevitable
talk of “New Year Resolutions”, to speak the truth I'm not a
great believer in making them. Too many people seem to drop them
within a week or two when the hype and positive outlook begins to
wear thin or the self applied pressure starts to weigh heavy. Too
bigger a step and you're destined to struggle, if not fail. I don't
wish to set myself up to fail so rather than burst into the new year
(seriously how many times can I get that term into this blog post?)
all guns blazing I try to think of things I'd like to do and perhaps
pick one or two. I consider them in a general sense, none too
specific, allowing them to grow and change throughout the months
ahead.
(Southport Beach in January)
A couple of blog posts back I mentioned
that I was hoping to go on an adventure, a holiday abroad, over the
festive period, unfortunately due to circumstances cropping up this
didn't pan out. Instead I spent my first Christmas with just J at our
house. It was both Christmas and not Christmas at the same time. A
new experience, with old traditions thrown in. It got me thinking
about how I wanted to do more in the year ahead. We've been
progressing on our house (renovating an old house) and it has meant
that much of our 'thinking space' has been occupied with wallpapering
and roof tiles and the like. We've stopped going on as many
adventures and have been sticking to a similar rotational regime of
coffee, food shopping and pet supplies.
(Me on Southport Beach!)
In 2016 we made a pact to go on 12
adventures throughout the year, generally speaking these fell once or
more. Often there were more, but we set a minimum of 12. It sounds
weird to plan spontaneity, it feels somewhat of a contradiction but
it also makes sense. It pushed me outside of my comfort zone and
forced me to think outside the box. We plan to resurrect the
Adventure Pact this year and to continue doing and seeing more, like
eating doughnuts on a absolutely freezing Southport Beach in the
middle of January to visiting Beeston Castle.
Similarly, how I had intended to keep a record of
my Christmas Holiday, I intend to document my Adventure Pact. I
decided I wanted to change it up and push the boundary of my creating
style. Whenever I journal it has always been in a bound book (save
Project Life) whether in a Travelers Notebook or a sketch book of
some kind. So with that being said I've set up my Nude Filofax Original as a journal.
I've used Tomoe River paper for my
pages, they're not quite B6 but taller and wider than actual personal
inserts, I've also added the off cuts for a bit of variety. I'm sure I
will be tipping in other bits and pieces, photographs and the like as
I go along. I'm hoping the rings will actually make this process a
little easier and allowing me greater flexibility to change things
and swaps bits around as I go along! We shall see.
I've decorated my inside, I would say
pockets but the Originals do not have traditional pockets, just an
annoying elastic loop. I've cobbled together, using some scrapbook
paper pieces, some make shift pockets and slips to place my
paperclips and bits of ephemera. I finally used a piece of 12x12
scrapbook paper I've been hoarding for a long while!
I've tried to include things that
inspire me to keep challenging myself to find adventure, whether it
is big or small, a tangible experience or a fleeting moment. There
are moments to be had and I'm going to find them.
Don't forget to check out Anna's
fantastic course on Adventure Journaling, she has some amazing tips
and tricks to get you started.....and also can I just say Cambs Con!
Remember to put the date in your diary!!
